The Man who was Broken
by Deathbeast
Summary: 10 years after the battle of Hogwarts, Harry begins to unravel. He is the the head of the DMLE, widely respected in the Wizarding world, married to Ginny but something inside him is broken.
1. Chapter 1

Gradually the grey light of dawn crept between his curtains. Sleep had not found him last night, he lay watching the shadows on the wall, his eyes stinging through lack of sleep. It didn't matter how long he closed his eyes, the same images always returned. Trees; soulless red eyes and the flash of green light haunted him. His "death" at the hand of Tom Riddle happened so many years ago, but still, the weight of guilt, of expectation of hopelessness hung to him like a bad smell. Harry Potter, the boy who lived was now the man that was broken.

His rise to the top of the Auror department was as meteoric as everyone expected it to be, the saviour of the Wizarding world brought about swift and resolute changes which saw him become the head of the department of magical law enforcement by the of 28. His influence on how the magical world would detect and solve crimes by means of following long-established practices in Muggle police forces was seen, at first, as an attempt to erode Wizarding heritage. Potters police, as they came to be known, proved that with the simple application of detective work and evidence-based research no crime was unsolvable.

Even after all his achievements Harry still felt broken inside. To the world at large, he was a leader that they could look up to, someone that would carry the fight to the darkness and stand triumphant at the end, to his colleagues he was the hardest working man they knew. Always in the office before everyone else, always last to leave. He was a shining example of hard work and dedication. To his friends, he was simply Harry, a well mannered and courteous man who was humble and loyal. To his wife, he used to be the man of her dreams, now he was overworked and under appreciative of her needs. To Ron, he was the man that had everything, everything that Ron wanted; fame, gold, hordes of fans. The only person that knew his hopes and fears and saw how the weight of expectation was crushing the life out of him was Hermione.

He lay waiting, slowly riming of the seconds in his head until she woke, twenty-one thousand six hundred and twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Ginny yawned and stretched, 'morning darling' she said sleepily before rolling over and kissing him, he kissed her back. More as an automatic response than anything else but as usual Ginny didn't notice. I wonder how long it would be before she noticed I wasn't here, he thought. 'You know I don't have to be in at the Prophet for a couple of hours, maybe we can stay here and ...' she let the unfinished sentence hang in the air while she played with the hair on his chest.

Harry replied 'I have to be at the wizenagamot in half an hour Gin, you know we are finally going to pass your dads Muggle protection act.' As he delivered this news he stroked her hair as lovingly as he could. Ginny sighed, 'I know, it's just I never get to spend any time with you. Next week I have Tuesday off, can you take the day to spend with me?' she looked up him, her bright brown eyes hopeful. 'I'll speak to the boss and square it away' Harry teased 'erm...you are the boss, you know!'

Ginny could never understand his humour; he got out of bed and walked to the bedroom door. 'I know; it was a bad joke, love. I'll take next Tuesday off and we'll make a day of it. Lunch, a show and somewhere nice for dinner, how does that sound?' Ginny gave a yelp of delight and bounce out of bed and flung herself at Harry, crushing the air from his lungs in a patented Molly Weaseley Hug 'thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou' her lips met his before saying 'bugger off you, you've got work to get to' before bouncing back to bed.

Twenty minutes later Harry was sitting at his desk, a cup of what passed for coffee stood with steam curling from it. His desk was a picture of efficiency and neatness, his inbox had three memos, his out box was empty and his pending tray was equally bare. There was very little in his office to show that someone actually spent any time there. He and Ginny's marriage had not been blessed with kids yet so he had no paintings of purple dogs or drawing of houses that had stick people with unimaginably long legs standing next to it.

There were no photos of him and Ginny either, the only photo he had on his desk was from the album that Hagrid gave to him at the end of his first year. The photo was of his mum and dad holding him as a baby. This was the only photo he had of him and his parents together; it was their sacrifice that drove him to make the Wizarding world a safer place. He stared at it every morning and renewed the same promise to keep fighting for those that couldn't fight for themselves.

#

Hermione stood in the shower letting the warm water cascade down her neck and back. Her eyes stung with the suds from her shampoo as well as from her lack of sleep, like Harry the scars were still too fresh for her. The nightmares came most nights, always the same. Bellatrix carving the word "mud-blood" into her arm, whispering all the while about the terrible things she would see done to her and her family before the end.

The war was over, Bellatrix was long dead; now nothing more than a name to frighten naughty children with, but the fear was still there. The memory of that day at Malfoy manor still chilled the marrow of her bones, not even the warmth of the shower could ease that. As Deputy Head of the department of magical law enforcement, Hermione Weasley was a formidable woman. Her well-earned reputation for being determined, uncompromising yet fair was the stuff of legend, not since Amelia Bones had anyone been considered so formidable. The Potter and Weasley team worked swiftly and always got results.

Today she would sit with Harry as her father in laws long-overlooked law was finally passed into legislation. It would be a proud day remembered by the Weasley family for generations. Hermione knocked on Harry's office door 'Enter' came the response, she opened the door and the sight of him sitting there looking forlornly at his parent's photo caused her heart to break a little every time she saw it, he still looked like that eleven-year-old boy who desperately wanted his mum. He looked up at her, his bright green eyes shining with unshed tears.

'It's time, Harry.' He got up and walked to the door, 'you never knock, why start now?' he asked as they made their way to the chamber, for a few seconds silence passed between them she replied 'I had a feeling that you needed a moment of privacy.', 'I wish Ginny was as perceptive as you 'Mione. Sometimes she is so overbearing that I can't breathe' said Harry. 'She just wants to spend time with her husband. Surely you can understand that?' she asked. Harry gave a humorless laugh, 'you mean she wants to constantly show off that she's married to the boy who lived!' there was no response to that, Hermione knew exactly what Harry meant by this.

They arrived at the chamber and took their seats, there were a few laws being passed, Arthurs being seventh on the bill, they had a little bit of a wait before seeing Arthurs life's work come to fruition.

#

Finally, after a few hours of readings, questions about the various acts and how they will be policed, The Muggle Protection Act was passed by a unanimous vote. Harry and Hermione went over to congratulate their father-in-law. Hermione hugged him and asked 'How does it feel to finally have it passed?' Arthur was choked up with emotion and stood shacking his head in disbelief before saying 'I couldn't have done it without all the changes that you two have made. Dumbledore would be so proud', at this Harry groaned inwardly 'Arthur, Albus was a great man, don't get me wrong, but a lot of the problem we have had to deal with over the last few years was down to him and people like him that didn't want things to change. Too many people got hurt because Dumbledore kept too many things to himself,'

Harry visibly sagged 'listen, don't mind me Arthur, I'm tired-'a yawn cut him off 'I've not been sleeping well of late, to tell you the truth I could do with a few days off.' With that Arthur said 'We're having a family dinner at the burrow tonight; it's been ten years since Fred...' Hermione embraced the Elder Weaseley before tears got the better of him. 'We'll be there, all of us.' Harry nodded in agreement.

#

Harry was sitting at his desk wondering why he forgot that almost ten years ago to the day he had stopped Tom. Had it really been that long? He was nearing his 28th birthday and if he was honest he would gladly forget the entire thing. The only really good thing that had happened on his birthday was Hagrid bringing him his Hogwarts letter, and since the end of the war he had tried to forget them. Ginny wouldn't take the hint and always went over the top, huge cake; lots of gifts, everyone coming to the party and always the inevitable questions about kids. He had had enough.

Everyone had already arrived at the burrow when Harry appeared; Ginny had been there since this afternoon, the atmosphere was light with only a few sombre faces dotted here and there. Every year the anniversary of Fred's passing hit George like a hammer blow all over again, some years it took hours to get him back to his normal self/ Tonight Harry saw him sitting alone by his dads old shed. 'Hi George, how's business?' Harry tried to be upbeat in the hope that this would shake George out of his funk. 'Hi Harry, business is good. Who would have thought "won-won" would be so good at business?' George's smile beamed Harry sat down. 'What's on your mind, mate?' George took a deep breath before answering 'I'm really proud of dad for getting his law passed. Fred would be too; in fact he would be bouncing off the walls with excitement seeing all the changes that you and Hermione have made.' This was not the reaction that Harry was expecting, George continued, 'I miss him everyday Harry but days like this just make it harder to keep going. I know that they all mean well and everything but sometimes I just want them to leave me to get on with it, you know?' Harry smiled at this brother-in-law and said 'more than you realise mate, more than you realise. Look I'm gonna head in and say hello to everyone, I'll get them to give you some space.' George smiled his appreciation, as Harry was walking away George call out to him 'A word to the wise mate, Gin is talking about babies again.'

Percy and Audrey were sitting with Angelina as their kids played, Ron was standing by the stairs with Bill and Arthur while Ginny, Hermione and Molly were in the kitchen. Fleur, Luna, Neville, Rolf and Charlie were engaged in a deep discussion on magical creatures and herbology. Harry stood just outside taking in the sight before him, The Burrow always felt like a second home to him, some of his happiest memories were closely linked to his place yet tonight he felt uneasy about going in. He took a deep breath and walked in the door 'you know Hermione, you could help harry out a little. I never get to see him anymore and we are trying for a family.' The bossy sound of Ginny's voice was starting to grate on his nerves.

Ron approached him 'alright?' the men embraced 'I'm good Ron, how are you doing?' Ron shrugged his shoulders 'could be better I suppose, but it is what it is. Is what Ginny saying true; that you're trying for kids?' the hope in his voice was evident 'maybe Hermione could take the hint!' Harry just shook his head 'Mate, I barely have time to scratch my arse never mind thinking about getting Ginny pregnant.' Ginny had heard Harrys' voice and came over 'What's this about getting me pregnant?' she asked.

It wasn't so much what she said more the way that she said it that caused Harry to react the way he did, 'for fuck sake Ginny, can we have one night without you constantly going on about kids? I get it you want kids and as fucking usual the chosen one makes an arse of it again.' Ginny stood open mouthed 'Harry I...' the colour drained from her face as her unloaded again. 'I've had it up to here, when are you going actually listen to me? Huh? When will you actually ask what I want?' Ron tried to cut in 'Harry mate calm down!' This just stoked the flames 'why Ron? Why the fuck should I calm down? its incessant, it's always "I'd like this" or "I want us to go here" or "we need to be seen at so and so's party"' every pair of eyes was now fixed on him, Ginny stood before him, tears running down her cheeks, as she reached out to him he said in barely a whisper 'don't touch me' before walking out the door and walking to the edge of the wards. Before apparating he here the plaintive cries of Ginny calling him 'Harry, don't go!'


	2. Chapter 2

Ginny dropped to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably as the sound of Harry disapparating echoed across the garden. In the Burrow the guests stood or sat in shocked silence, no one expected such an outburst from Harry. Hermione was the first to react, she ran to Ginny to comfort her. 'Ginny, are you alright?' she asked the distraught woman in front of her looked up at her friend, fat tears rolled down her cheeks 'w-why would he leave me? Hermione, what did I do?' Hermione knelt beside her and embraced her sister-in-law. 'I don't know sweetheart, I not seen him like this since 5th year.'

George walked across the garden to the kneeling women; if this was Harry's idea of getting them to give him some space, then it was in very bad taste. 'Gin, what happened?' he called out to his sister, Hermione had managed to calm Ginny down. 'Harry blew up at me in the house, it was awful George.' She started to sob again as he brother knelt down and put his arms around her.

'I'm sure that Harry didn't mean it, Gin. I spoke with him when he arrived and he didn't seem himself.' said George. Both women looked at him, urging him to go on. 'To be honest with you, he looked a little lost. I've not seen him like this since the night Cedric died.' This revelation shocked both women to their core. Hermione said 'I remember he was really angry because Dumbledore ordered us to keep him in the dark. He felt helpless, like he had no control over his own life. The fact the others were making decisions about his life that he had no say about really messed him up.' This set Ginny off again, 'where would he go Hermione? Your his best friend, where is he?' Ginny pleaded with her sister-in-law, 'I don't know, Ginny.'

The burrow was deathly silent. No one wanted to be the first to say anything but everyone had the same question on their mind, 'what was going on?' The floo roared into life, Headmistress McGonagall's head appeared in the fireplace 'Molly? Arthur?' Molly rushed over to the fireplace 'Molly, can you tell me why I have Harry potter sitting in my office in tears?' Minerva cocked a stern eyebrow as she spoke; Arthur answered 'Minerva, Harry and Ginny had a bit of a falling out. Can I speak with him?' Minerva disappeared from view for a moment before returning 'You can come through Arthur, only you. You're the only one that Harry will speak with.'

Arthur stepped through the blazing green flames into the headmistress's office, all the thoughts of disappointment and outrage left him as he laid eyes upon Harry. On an armchair next to McGonagall's desk sat Harry. Minerva stood and took her leave. Arthur stood and looked at his son-in-law, the sight broke his heart. Here was the bravest young man he had ever met sitting in bits, shaking uncontrollably. All colour had left his face, tear were streaming down his face 'whenever I close my eyes I see the clearing in the forest, then a flash of green. I can see all their faces Arthur and I don't know how to stop it.' Arthur crouched beside Harry and put his arms round him. 'I remember that night very clearly, Harry. I'll never forget seeing Hagrid carrying your body; it was like losing Fred all over again. I have never gotten over seeing that sight, I don't think that any of us that saw it ever will.' Harry put his arm round Arthur and pulled him closer. Arthur was the closest thing he had to a father and it was times like this Harry needed his dad. 'When I walked to the forest I used the resurrection stone to speak with my parents, Sirius and Remus. I let them all down Arthur, I let you all down.' the sobs wracked his body as he fell apart. Arthur had been here before with George, he knew that this was something that he just had to let run its course.

Minerva closed her office door quietly behind her; she hadn't meant to listen in on such a private conversation, her first instinct was to rush over and put her arms round Harry and reassure him, that feeling this way was normal and that he had in no way let anyone down. The revelation that he was re=living the night in the forest shook her. This was no mere memory to him, this was real and no amount of comforting words would alter this fact. She made her way to the infirmary, perhaps Poppy would be able to assist him.

'Poppy?' Minerva called out to her friend as she rushed towards the office, 'Minerva, whatever is the matter?' The mediwitch looked concerned, 'Poppy there is a situation that needs the utmost discretion and care in my office, I need you to come with me and not ask any questions.' Poppy had rarely seen the headmistress so worked up. 'Minerva, we have been friends and colleagues for more years than I care to remember. Would you tell me what has got you so worked up?' admonished Poppy. Minerva looked shaken as she said the two words that Madam Pomfrey hoped she would never hear again 'Harry Potter.'

#

Ginny, Hermione and George walked into the Burrow, the atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife, 'Ron, what's happened?' asked Hermione worriedly. Before Ron had a chance to speak molly came through from the Kitchen 'Ginny, dear come and help me in the kitchen.' Molly engulfed her daughter and escorted her away from the prying eyes of their friends and family. Ron answered 'McGonagall called through on the floo, Harry is at Hogwarts. Dad's with them.' Hermione made to go to the fireplace, Ron grabbed her wrist 'Hermione, stop. It's not your place to go to Harry.' The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as Hermione glared at her husband, 'he fought a troll to save me and walked alone to face Voldemort to save everyone in this house. He's more than my best friend Ron he's fucking family!' she started to walk away when Ron pulled her back 'he's not your husband, Hermione. I am.'

Neville stood up and said 'Ron, how many time has Harry been there for us? Eh? Every person in this house owes their life to him and I...' his voice began to falter as he spoke Luna reached up and took her friends hand; this gave him the strength to continue 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.' Ron rounded on Neville 'and what about Ginny? What did she do to deserve being humiliated in front of her friends and family? He was totally out of order speaking to her like that.' the cacophony of noise erupted at Ron's comments, suddenly every one found their voice and they all spoke at once. Hermione and Neville roared at Ron, Rolf and Angelina bickered while Fleur, Luna and Charlie tried to defend both parties to everyone.

Molly hugged her still crying daughter, stocking her long red hair as she whispered 'It's alright dear, Harry will be back you'll see. I'm sure it was just a little misunderstanding that will blow over in no time.' Ginny held on to her mother for dear life, other than Harry her mother was the one person that put her life on the line for Ginny.

#

Poppy and Minerva stood outside Minerva's office, as they rushed through the school they received some bewildered looks from both pupils and staff. Minerva knocked on the door, Arthur called out 'Come in' the two men hadn't moved from where she had left them. 'Harry, I've brought Poppy for you.' Harry looked up and the sight of his pale shaking face caused Poppy to gasp. 'Arthur, can you tell me what happened?' Poppy asked 'well, I don't really know. Harry came into the Burrow and was talking with Ron. Ginny came over to him and he erupted and left. They next thing I know Minerva was on the floo saying that he was here.'

Arthur and Minerva left the mediwitch to her duties and walked to the staff room. 'He's really shook up about something Minerva. It's almost like the last 10 years hasn't happened.' McGonagall stopped dead in her tracks 'as I was leaving my office, I overheard what he said to you, Arthur, I won't lie to you it scared me.' Arthur replied 'he thinks he's let us down, I don't know how long this has been going on but he said he's not been sleeping. I keep trying to think if there was something that has happened at the ministry but nothing springs to mind. I feel so bloody helpless.'

'Harry, I want you to take a couple of deep breaths for me, we need to bring your heart rate down. 'Harry looked at Poppy and took a few deep breaths and slowly his heart rate slowed and his hands stopped shaking. 'What's happening to me Madam Pomfrey?' Poppy smiled and said 'you hold the second highest office in our world Harry, I think you've earned the right to be on a first name basis with me, don't you?' this raised a smile 'to answer your question, you have suffered a panic attack and quite a big one if I'm any judge. Now why don't you tell me what's been happening?' Harry lowered his eyes to the floor, he found a spot just under McGonagall's desk and fixed his eyes to it and poured out his soul.

#

Percy Weasley had always mistrusted Harry, and it was this mistrust that caused him to raise his voice. 'I for one think that Harry's actions here tonight were nothing short of shameful. In fact they were downright cowardly.' At this everyone fell silent, Percy took this as a sign that he should carry on, so he did 'I always said that he was trouble, in fact I wrote to you at Hogwarts and advised that you stay away from him, didn't I Ron? I would wager your thinking that you should have taken that piece of advice now.' The smugness rolled off him in waves, no-one knew who it was that stunned him as they all reached for their wands at the same time.

After a couple of hours, the family dispersed and took their kids home. Promises to keep them informed where made. The floo roared into life Ginny cried out 'Harry!' and looked slightly crestfallen when she saw that it was only her father that had come through. 'He's fine darling, poppy gave him a sleeping draft and he's in one of the apartments at Hogwarts.' Ginny rushed to her father and squeezed him as hard as she could; he had always been the rock that she clung to in difficult times. 'What's wrong with him daddy?' Arthur kissed the top of her head and said 'I'm afraid that's not for me to say. What I can tell you is that he's going to need all our support in the coming days...Who stunned Percy?'

Ron stared down his father 'how can you stand there and defend him after what he's done tonight?' Arthur gave Ron a look that he had never seen from his father before 'what you saw tonight was the culmination of everything that has ever happened to that boy since he lost his parent, Ron. Be very thankful that because of that boy you still have both of yours.' Arthur's temper was beginning to get the better of him. 'You might want to consider your next words very carefully my boy.' With that Arthur clapped his hand s and said 'right lets have some cake!' all the while his steely glare never left Ron.

Ginny wanted to rant at Ron for his stupidity, his insensitivity, for being Ron but she knew that she couldn't. He was doing just what a big brother should do, sticking up for his little sister. All night she had been replaying in her head over and over again all the things that Harry had said. She turned to Hermione 'can we go some place and talk?' Both women walked out to the garden, the sun was only just beginning to set on the horizon. The sky was terracotta orange with faint hints or purple and red, they sat by the pond. A couple of Gnomes scampered though the nearby hedge, an uncomfortable silence hung over them. 'Ginny, before you ask me anything I think I should tell you something, it might explain a few things.' Ginny's hand shot to her mouth 'oh my god you and Harry are having an affair!' 'What? No, how could you even think that?' exclaimed Hermione. 'Then what is it?' Hermione took a deep breath and said 'I know what's happening with Harry, because it's happening to me too.'


	3. Chapter 3

'I don't understand, what's happening to you too?' asked Ginny. Hermione, taking a moment, looked up at the setting sun, 'I used to love watching the sun going down when I was younger. I loved the way the fading sunlight would paint the clouds in reds and oranges. Now when I see the sun set all I see is the darkness coming.' Tears began to well up in her eyes as she spoke. 'When we were hunting the horcruxes, everything looked bleak. Ron had left us and we didn't have the faintest idea what we were doing or where we needed to go next. Harry said that he wanted to go to Godric's Hollow because we thought that the sword had been hidden there for us. It was the first time that he had visited his parent's grave.'

'We stood by their graveside and he looked so lost, it broke my heart to see him like that. It was not long after this that we were attacked by Nagini and Voldemort, were barely got out of there alive. Ron came back to us shortly after then we got caught by the snatchers and taken to Malfoy's.' Hermione looked up; Ginny had heard parts of the story from Harry, but never in any real detail. The shock was evident. 'Harry and Ron where kept in this cellar, but Bellatrix wanted me. She tortured me for what seemed like hours, taking delight every time I cried out. She used the Cruciatus Curse on me before she slowly carved "mud blood" on my arm, as she sliced through my skin she told me of all the things that she would have Greyback do to me when she was finished. I won't repeat them because just the thought of them makes me want to retch' Ginny reached out and took hold of Hermione's hand; the tears were flowing freely down Hermione's cheeks. 'Every night since I hear her voice in my head, I feel the knife slicing my arm opened and I can't breathe. I wake up some night bathed in sweat, other nights I wake screaming, petrified that it's still happening. I haven't slept a full night in the last 10 years, some nights I don't sleep at all. Every morning I spend upwards of an hour in the show trying to wash away the memories.' Hermione broke down as her sister-in-law pulled her into her arms. Ginny wept at the thought of her friends suffering, if it was this bad for Hermione, how bad was it for Harry?

#

'I hear my mother dying every night; she screams "Not Harry; kill me instead" then he laughs and then a flash of green light.' Harry's focus never left the spot under Minerva's desk, he was afraid that if he looked up his resolve would crumble and he would finally fall to pieces. 'How long have you experienced this, Harry?' asked Poppy, Almost automatically Harry responded 'ever since my third year here. The Dementor attack on the train was the first time, but recently its every night that and when I faced Tom in the forest.' After a moment Poppy said 'I know better than most people how much you suffered, physically, during your years here. It can't have been easy for you Harry.' He didn't want to look up and see the caring look that he knew would be there, he didn't feel worthy of it 'I have seen so many people die for me, I have lost family and friends and people look to me as some heroic figure that saved everybody. I didn't save them, they died because of me.' Harry looked up, Poppy saw for the first time the haunted look in his eyes; here was the broken war hero desperately trying to cling to some small measure of normality that could make his waking moments bearable because when he closed his eyes every horror he had ever seen is revisited upon him. 'When was the last time you slept, Harry?' asked Poppy, he just shook his head. 'I lie awake at night counting the seconds until Ginny wakes, there are 21600 seconds in 6 hours; did you know that? I counted them. The last time I slept unaided was probably about 10 days ago. I have been using either alcohol or the potion for dreamless sleep. However I think the latter is becoming less effective the more I use it.' Poppy sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. 'Harry, I would like you to stay here for tonight. I'll give you something calm your nerves and arrange for an apartment for you, how does that sound?' Harry just focused on the spot under the desk.

#

Ron had never been the most sensitive person when it came to other people's feelings, it wasn't that he did care; it was just that self absorbed to notice when something was wrong. He stood in the outside the door watching Ginny and Hermione holding each other, he could see that something was wrong but he was at a loss as to what it might be. 'You look worried, son' Arthur put his hand on his son's shoulder. 'How could I miss something this big Dad? You know all about the stuff with Hermione, so how could I not see it in Harry?' he turned to his dad 'Is it really that bad?' Arthur sighed 'When you look at Harry do you see the 11 year old that jumped on a toll to save a girl he barely knew? Do you see the 12 year old boy that took on a 60 foot basilisk to save your sister? Do you see the 17 year old that willingly walked to his death to save the people he loved? Or do you just see your best friend that has never once let you down or gave up on you? Your best friend is struggling, Ron and the only person that knew anything about it was the one person that has never once left his side through everything that the world threw at him.' both men looked at Ginny holding Hermione, Arthur looked at his son 'your wife need you, son.'

#

" _My Dearest Ginny,_

 _I love you. Please don't blame yourself, I just couldn't take it any longer._

 _Harry."_

Harry stood on the stool and put his head through the makeshift noose, the weight of expectation seemed to fall from his shoulder now that the end was at hand. He looked round the room; Hogwarts was his first real home, it was all most poetic that it should be where his end came. He kicked the stool away, after a few second his vision went black and he stopped struggling.

#

Ron sat down next to his wife; Ginny said 'I'll give you guys some space.' She got up and walked back to the house. 'I never realised, Dad told me that Harry's in a really bad way.' Hermione looked at her husband and for the first time she saw real concern in his eyes for their friend. 'He's been like this since he walked in to the forest Ron, he used the stone and saw his parents and I think a part of him broke.' Ron was stunned.

Ginny screamed 'HARRY!' Ron and Hermione shot to their feet and ran to the burrow. Ron reached the door first and saw the Floo die and Ginny wailing on the floor holding a slip of parchment, her mother kneeling by her side. Hermione picked up the parchment, scanned it and gasped 'NO!' before clinging to Ron as her legs buckled beneath her. Ron read the letter 'Where's Dad, DAD?' He cried out. 'George where's Dad' George just pointed at the fireplace. Ron sat Hermione on the couch and ran to the edge of the wards before apparating to Hogsmead. His legs had never carried him as fast before as he ran towards the school. His best friend needed him; he only hoped that he wasn't too late. 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N – Harry potter is owned by JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

This is not the end of the story; I have a few more things to add. I hope that you continue to read on.

Jamie Fraser is a nod to my wife who is a huge fan of Outlander

##

A thousand different scenarios raced through his mind as he sprinted as fast as he could towards the main doors. Each step he took felt leaden, his lungs burned as he fought to suck in enough oxygen to feed his muscles. As he raced around the final band of the path from Hogsmeade he saw his father and McGonagall standing in front of the doors, Arthur was comforting his old friend as he wiped his eyes with his cuff.

Ron ran faster than he'd ever run before, he shouted 'DAD! DAD' he reached the step as his father walked down to meet him. 'It's too late son, he gone.' Ron put his hands on his head as the shock of his father's words hit him like a tsunami. 'No dad, no! We have to help him.' Arthur put his arms around his son as Ron's aching legs buckled. He wept in his father arms, Arthur tried to soothe him 'It's alright, son.'

#

Poppy sat in Minerva's office, her eyes red and sore. Going over everything that had happened, trying to figure out what she could have done differently. Everything pointed to her following the protocols exactly as they had been written. She stood up and paced the floor, very similarly to the way Dumbledore used to do as he pondered things.

She stopped dead in her tracks as something fired in her memory 'the dreamless sleep potion was becoming less effective the more he used it.' Her hands shot to her mouth, the dosage that she had given him was nowhere close to being effective. Poppy dropped to her knees 'what have I done?'

#

Minerva watched the father and son for a brief moment before returning to the school, word had started to spread that something bad had happened. Some of the older pupils and the prefects stood on the marble staircase; snippets of conversation could be heard. Minerva bore down on them like a bludger 'all of you back to your dormitories, or there will be detention until the end of the term.' She ordered. There was no question of anyone disobeying; when the Headmistress spoke you listened.

Minerva made her way to the gargoyle and gave her password 'Capercaillie' the stone griffin stood aside allowing her access to the staircase. She slowly walked up the step, dwelling on the recent event and how it happened. She entered her office and found Poppy still on her knees; fresh tears falling from her red eyes, Poppy turned and saw Minerva who said 'He's gone Poppy. They took him to St. Mungo's about 10 minutes ago.' Poppy replied 'I didn't give him a high enough dose of Dreamless sleep potion, he had been self medicating in ever increasing doses. What I gave him had no effect what so ever.' Minerva reached from her friends' hand, 'you did everything you could.'

#

Arthur sat on the ground, his son clinging to him. 'Ron, there's something I have to tell you.' Ron looked up, his father was blurry through the tears, 'What?' Ron's voice sounded thick and laboured. Arthur said 'they took Harry to St. Mungo's, he's in a critical condition Ron, they don't know if he'll make it through the night.' Ron looked confusedly at his father, 'what are you saying, dad?' he asked. Arthur said 'he's still with us but its touch and go.' Ron sprung to his feet and though someone has shocked him 'I have to be there dad.' He went to run back towards Hogsmead before Arthur gripped his arm. 'We'll floo home first and get the girls; they might not know how he is yet.'

#

Harry potter was alive, if only just. Depression, lack of sleep and large amounts of self loathing had fuelled his suicide attempt. It was only due to his "sheer dumb luck" as McGonagall put it so eloquently in his saving of Hermione from the troll in first year, that he was found when he was. A minute later and he would have been beyond all aid, he was found by the head boy who, on hearing the stool clattering on the stone floor, came to investigate. Jamie Fraser, of Gryffindor, saw Harry twitching as he hung from the rafter. Working on instinct rather than skill he cast the amplification charm shouting 'HEADMISTRESS, HARRY POTTER!' before casting the severing on the knotted bed sheet that Harry had used.

#

Ron and Arthur emerged from the floo, the unasked question hung on everyone's lips, Arthur homed in on Ginny who was still lying on the floor clutching Harrys note, 'he's alive, Ginny, but he's in a really bad way. They took him to St. Mungo's about 10 minutes ago.' There was a deathly silence while everyone considered the news. Ginny and Hermione both got up and made for the fireplace, their instinct was to but at his bedside. In all the years Hermione had known Harry she had never once left his side, she wasn't going to start now. Ginny knew and accepted this, both women loved him albeit in very different ways, Ginny had his body and soul, Hermione had his heart. Ginny grabbed a handful of floo powder and called out her destination and disappeared in green flames, followed closely by her best friend.

#

Harry lay on the hospital bed, the healers had been working on him for some time; He was in a stable yet critical condition. Only time would tell if he would wake, all magical and non-magical means had been exhausted, now time was the only thing left. As the minutes turned to hours; the hours to days both Ginny and Hermione had not left his side. The both of them had been resolute in their refusal to leave, not even the insistence of the healers or family could move them. Until they knew he was out of danger, they went nowhere.

On the 4th day Harry said in a hoarse whisper 'mu...' both women became alive at this. Their ashen panicked faces lightened. Their excitement was, however, short lived as no other sounds were made. Their family and friends took turns to sit with the women; eventually the minister came by and saw for himself how things were progressing. 'How are you both holding up? Is there anything I can do?' asked Minster Shacklebolt, both looked up, shook their head and continued to watch over Harry.

#

Meeting one's parents using the resurrection stone is one thing, but to stand outside your own body and see them standing there looking at you was both strangely comforting to Harry and slightly weird. 'We said that we would always be with you, Harry.' Said his Mum 'we know that you have been through so much, we understand how difficult it was for you.' offered his dad. Harry just stood and watched over himself, his wife and best friend. 'I don't think I want to go back, mum. Can't I say here with you?' he asked of Lily. She smiled at him sweetly and said, 'we will be together again Harry, but it's not your time. Go back to your family, talk to them and tell them how you feel. They will listen and understand. Especially Hermione, be there for her the same way that she has always been at your side.'

#

On the 7th day Harry opened his eyes and said in a very hoarse whisper 'you both look done in.' simultaneously they shouted 'Harry' Ginny pounced on him and hugged her husband, Hermione took a step back to give the couple some space. Harry gripped her hand and pulled her in to the hug, and Ginny said 'you deserve to hug him too; you've been here as long as me.

The healers carried out some tests and were pleased with the response, they agreed to send him home after a few days, and this would allow the bruising round his neck to subside. After a further 7 days he was discharged to go home as the bruising had improved. He arrived back at Grimmauld Place to be met with all his family and friends. They had all sworn to make sure that there wasn't a repeat performance, one attempt was one too many.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter That honour belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my efforts, I know that there are far better writers that you could be spending your time reading, Grisham, Tolkien, McNab, Robst, forbiddenharmony7 to name just a few.

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The bruising round his neck has changed from the angry red welts the purple, then finally to the horrible yellow colour. The whites of his eyes had slowly returned from red to white as the capillaries repaired, talking was still an issue but considering the alternative, it was a small hardship his family and friends were happy to deal with. The floo roared into life, Ron emerged from the flames, in the 2 weeks that Harry had been home from the hospital, this was the first time that Ron had visited. This would not be and easy visit for anyone.

He embraced his little sister as Hermione walked from the flames and asked 'Is he awake?' She nodded 'I just took him some lunch.' Ron kissed his sister on the forehead before heading to the stairs 'Ron?' she called after him 'go easy on him' Ron smiled and slowly walked up the stairs. 'How are you bearing up, Gin?' asked Hermione, at this Ginny fell apart. Hermione held her and allowed her the time to express the grief and confusion. 'We almost lost him, and I'm so scared that he'll do it again.' Every the logical one Hermione said 'I'd like to say that he's been through worse but I can't. He's been going through this since his parents died, all through the time he stayed with his aunt. Then add on all the stuff he had to deal with at Hogwarts, and top it off with walking into the forest to sacrifice himself for all of us.' Ginny looked at Hermione, her hand at her mouth; the shock of what she was hearing evident on her face. Hermione continued 'all this time he was struggling and no one noticed. No one took the time to find out how he was doing, we just expected that The Chosen One would always be there to save the day. Well who was there to save the day when he needed it Gin? I missed all the signs and I let you down, I let him down and it kills me inside every time I think of how close we came to losing him' the calm composure of Hermione's logic crumbled and fell apart. Ginny held her sister-in-law and said 'If the brightest witch of her age missed the signs, how were the rest of us supposed to notice?' this caused the mood to lift a little, they went to the kitchen.

Ron stood outside the door to the master bedroom, this was uncharted territory for Ron; usually it would be Harry coming to talk with him after something had happened. Ron was hurting, his friend tried to take his own life and he missed the sign. The last time he had seen Harry was the argument at the Burrow, their last works were ones said in anger. He knocked the door; a very feint 'come in' was called out. Taking a deep breath he opened the door. The sight before him was one that not even his darkest nightmare would have conjured. Harry's eyes were still the iridescent green he remembered but they had lost the lustre that they once had. The bravest man he had ever known now looked a shadow of his former self, broken by life and insurmountable expectation being placed on him from and impossibly young age.

Harry tried to speak, Ron held up his hand to stop him. 'I..eh,' tears started to form in Ron's eyes as he looked at his friend, not tears of pity but of anger. 'Why, harry?' Ron spoke as calmly as he could, the tears slowly running down his face, 'my sister was in bits because of you, you selfish bastard. Why'd you do it?, was it because she wants kids; or was it because she wants to go to a party? Is that it? I'll tell you something, at one point I hoped that you didn't pull through. Yeah I wanted you to die, I saw how badly Ginny was taking it and I wanted you to fucking die.' Ron's voice was beginning to rise, 'I hated you for being so selfish.' Harry couldn't look at Ron, he was too ashamed to, Ron carried on regardless 'the boy who fucking lived, who saw of the darkest wizard in god knows how long 3 times before you hit puberty, tries to top himself with a bed sheet.'

The girls heard Ron shouting and came up the stairs; they were just about to intervene when Ron started talking again, 'I thought I had lost my best friend, my brother. I thought about all the things you did for my family. You saved Ginny, you saved my Dad, and you gave Fred and George the money for their shop. You stayed with Hermione when she had been petrified, because you didn't want her to be lonely; you fought a Troll for her when you didn't even know her. You saved my life after that bloody love potion. I realised that everything I have, is down to you and I never saw it until it was almost too late.' He wiped the tears from his face before carrying on, 'to everyone else I was just the greedy annoying sidekick, to you I was your best friend and I let you down. I didn't see it mate. I look at you now and its eating me up inside that I let this happen to you.' At this Harry looked up and saw his friend standing there lost and broken. He got out of bed and embraced his oldest friend; his voice was little louder than a whisper 'can you ever forgive me, Ron?'

Outside the room both women watched as their husbands took courage from each other, while their friendship hadn't ended it had stopped being as close as it once was. The golden trio had become the golden duo with Harry and Hermione leading the changes in their world while Ron was happy to work with his brother. Both men sat on the bed and talked, mainly about work, as neither was comfortable enough to have the big discussion that needed to happen.

#

Minister Shacklebolt had managed to prevent anything being leaked about the absence of the head of the DMLE and his deputy, there had been some inquiries from within the department although he had managed to dismiss these with the standard response 'there is an ongoing family matter, when this has been resolved they will be back. Until then Senior Auror Banks is taking charge.' He sat at his desk; the letter that he had received this morning did not make for good reading. He sat in contemplation before deciding he needed to seek someone else's council on the matter. He walked to his fireplace, grabbed a handful of floo powder before saying 'Headmistress McGonagall's office' the fireplace roared into life before he walked through.

Minerva looked up as Kingsley stepped from the flames 'Good morning Minister, to what do I owe the pleasure?' she asked with a raised eyebrow as she crossed her office to meet her guest. 'Minerva, please call me Kingsley. I need so council and I hope that you can help me.' The pair embraced, Minerva said 'I assume you received the same letter that I did from Harry?' Kingsley nodded. 'Kingsley, that young man has been through more than enough, the Wizarding world will have to learn to get by without him for a while.' said Minerva. Kingsley sighed and sat down, after an awkward silence he said 'I have to agree with you, Minerva. In one way or another, our world has taken advantage of him since the end of the first war.' He rubbed his weary face 'how did we all miss this? If it gets out that the saviour of our world tried to kill himself and no one saw the signs! I'm afraid we could have a serious problem.' Enraged Minerva said 'how can you think about your job at a time like this, Kinsley Shacklebolt, I am ashamed of you! You sound exactly like Fudge and you know how well that turned out.' Kingsley smiled 'you mistake my meaning Minerva; I was meaning that our world is kept safe because Harry Potter is the vanguard that hold the darkness at bay. Without him I dare not imagine what we might face.' Minerva replied 'then come what may, Harry need time to heal. We owe him at least that much.'

##

Hermione, Ginny and Ron sat in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place as Harry told them everything. He told them of his abuse at the hands of the Dursley's; how Dudley and his friends went on "Harry Hunts", how Hagrid came to the island and took him away and introduced him the Wizarding world. His first interaction with Malfoy and the elation he felt when he made his first friend. He spoke directly to Hermione 'I was so ashamed of myself for not defending you when Ron was being a git. When we saw that the Troll was going in to the toilet I knew that I had to do something.' Hermione gave him a warm, teary smile and reached across the table and took hold of his hand, her gratitude was evident. He turned to his wife, 'I barely knew you when you were in the Chamber. At that point you were just my mate's little sister, I had to help you if I could. Your family took me in and I was so grateful. I never expected to get out of that chamber alive and its down to Fawkes that I'm still here.' Ginny sat with her head down and her shoulders shook as she wept, the realisation that Harry had always been there for her, even when he barely knew her hit her like a hammer. They sat in silence for what seemed like an age, thinking on the many things that Harry had told them. The realisation that Harry, in one way or another, had always been there for them and when he needed them most they had just not seen it.

Harry cleared his throat 'I sent an owl to Kingsley earlier; I have officially stepped down from my position as Head of the DMLE effective immediately. I have nominated you as my replacement, Hermione. I also wrote to Minerva and I have told her that I will take up the position of Defence professor when the new term starts in September.' The other sat in mute silence, this was completely unexpected. Harry continued 'I need to take some time for myself and I need you three to help me, if you're willing.' Ginny spoke first 'of course Harry, we'll be here for you, whatever and whenever you need.' This brought a smile to his face, 'I'm going to get dressed, then Hermione would you go somewhere with me?' she nodded as Harry got up from the table and left the room.

Ten minutes after leaving the kitchen, Harry was ready to go. Hermione asked 'Where are we going?' he said 'I'm going to visit my parents and I really need you to be there with me' as he said this, Hermione saw the same lonely little boy that she saw when he was sitting at his desk looking at their photo. Nothing else needed to be said; she held his hand and Apparated to Godric's Hollow.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N – Harry potter is owned by JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

This is not the end of the story; I have a few more things to add. I hope that you continue to read on

##

'Harry, this is Godric's Hollow, Ginny should be here with you.' Harry took her hand in his and said 'I've never brought Ginny here; she wouldn't understand how difficult it is for me to come here. Last year on the day before Fred's anniversary she insisted that we take a picnic to the graveside. She got a little bent out of shape with me because I didn't feel comfortable getting intimate among the headstones.' He looked up at Hermione, who had a look of shock on her face. 'The only time I've been to see them was with you. I thought that we could leave some flowers for them and then there are a few things that I really need to speak with you about.'

The walked in comfortable silence along the quiet street, past the war memorial to the kissing gate, Harry walked through first and held the gate open for Hermione to come through before she extended the courtesy. She held his hand, knowing how difficult it had been for him the last time he was here. She could sense the trepidation in him, almost as though he didn't feel worthy to be in this place. Her touch seemed to give him the strength he needed. Against the far wall stood their headstones, the white marble seemed to radiate an ethereal glow that began to draw him towards it. 'I don't know if I can do this Hermione.' His voice was shaking with fear, he turned to leave and found Hermione blocking his path.

'Look at me Harry' she said in a firm yet understanding voice 'I'll be right here with you, until the end.' He swallowed hard and nodded. He didn't trust his voice to not break; together they walked over to the graves and stood with their heads slightly bowed. A few birds sung in the nearby trees; a light breeze scattered a few fallen leaves. Harry spoke first 'It's peaceful here; I can see why they chose to come here.'

Hermione put her head on his shoulder. She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, he realised that he was holding his breath. 'I never told anyone other than Dumbledore but I saw my parents the night Cedric died, when our wands connected I saw their spirits, then when I used the stone I saw them again and I spoke with them. They told me how brave I was and that it would be over soon. Then when I was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago I was standing outside my body watching you and Ginny and they were there with me. I didn't want to come back Hermione, I wanted to stay with my mum' hot tears rolled down his cheeks and he shared this with Hermione. She put her arms round him and let him cry, 27 years worth of grief for the mother that got taken away from him so cruelly.

'shhhh, It's alright.' She tried to soothe him as he fell apart in her arms. She felt helpless, yet she instinctively knew that this simple act of letting him grieve would be enough. They stood like this for what felt like forever; eventually Harry slid his arms round her waist and put his head on her shoulder. 'I have some things that I need to tell you. Not all of them good' Harry broke the silence, Hermione said 'I saw some benches over by the war memorial' He broke their embrace and conjured a wreath of lilies and placed them on their graves and said 'I'm sorry if I let you down Mum, Dad.' Before standing up and taking Hermione's hand walking away.

They made their way to the benches, 'What's wrong Harry?' she asked as they sat down. 'There's no easy way to say this Hermione, I'm leaving Ginny.' 'What! Why? Is there someone else?' Hermione stood up in shock. 'Please sit down and promise me that you'll hear me out before you hex me.' she sat down and eyed him wearily 'ok I'll agree to that, but if you tell me that you've been cheating on Ginny so help me god I will do more than hex you.' He smiled at her ultimatum. 'It's a deal, I want to ask you a question and you have to answer honestly because if I'm going to pour my heart and soul out to you then you have to at least be honest with me, no matter how brutal. Agreed?' she nodded and said 'ask away' he took a deep breath and said 'why did you and I never get together?' 'You never saw me as anything more than your best friend, Harry' he looked at her and said 'I never once left your side when you were petrified, when Dolohov's curse hit you I thought my world had ended. I refused to leave you while you were unconscious in the hospital being treated. Ron was barely there either time; did that not strike you as strange?' Hearing it put in this context made her sit up a little and pay closer attention to what was being said. He carried on 'when Cho broke it off with me she said it was because no one stood a chance with you around.' He looked up to the cloudless sky and said 'Even Dumbledore asked me if we were romantically involved, when I said that we weren't he even gave me one of his trademark twinkling winks as though he knew something that was being kept from me.' Hermione stayed silent so Harry continued 'every girl in Hogwarts at one point or another, with the exception of you, Luna and maybe Cho's friend Marietta, made a pass at me or acted like some love struck fan girl.' She said 'even Millicent and Parkinson?' Harry at least had the good grace to blush as he nodded 'Oh, Harry that just too funny!' she sat and heartily laughed at her friend's obvious discomfort. She stopped and said 'Did Draco know?' 'Yup, that's one of the reason he broke my nose on the train that time after his dad got arrested.' By this point she was howling with laughter 'ouch, I can't breathe' she said as tears of laughter rolled down her cheeks. She tried to compose herself by taking a few deep breaths before chuckling a little more. 'Greengrass and Davis I could perhaps see but Bulstrode? I'm sorry Harry but that's just too funny.' He replied 'I'm glad you find this funny Granger! It was bloody frightening, see even tried to kiss me once after Quidditch Practice. Urgh it was horrible, she tripped me up and help me on the ground. I could see right up her nose!' he shivered involuntarily and retched, this started her off again. 'If McGonagall hadn't of there I would have been done for.' Hermione calmed herself down after a couple of minutes before asking about Marietta 'she hated me because of you, and the fact that you broke up Cho and I. Luna always had a unique perspective on things that was always entertaining. Then there was Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age. You always saw me as your best friend; you saw beyond the rumours, the lies and the hype and saw me. That always meant a lot to me Hermione and I never thanked you for it' she smiled sweetly at him 'Harry you jumped on a Troll to save my life, you will always be my hero.' She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek 'the reality has always been better than the legend.'

Harry turned to face her and asked again 'So why didn't we ever get together?' she looked at her feet and replied 'I don't know, Harry.' This was the moment that he had been dreading, his mouth was dry, and the words were beginning to choke him before he finally said 'I ask because I fell in love with you the summer before second year, when we met up in Diagon alley and you once again fixed my glasses. It was almost like I had seen you for the first time, you took my breath away.'

All the mirth had left her, she sat in stunned silence. Out of all the things that she though he would tell her, this was not the list. Harry let the words settle before delivering his next salvo 'I look at you and I see what happiness looks like and a little bit of my soul dies because you're not mine.' Suddenly the birdsong sounded shrill and the breeze felt icy cold. He couldn't look at her because he didn't think that he could cope with seeing the hatred and disgust on her face at his revelation. Looking intently at the memorial to him and his parents he said 'I married Ginny because it was expected of me, I became an Auror because it was expected, and I rose to the top of the DMLE because it was expected. So now what? It's expected that I'll have kids with Ginny, that's never going to happen. I've tendered my resignation and for once I'm going to do things for me.'

Hermione said 'but...' Harry cut her off, 'I did say that not everything I would tell you would be good. I tried to kill myself because I couldn't see a way out, I had had enough of the constant burden of expectation that everyone had put on me. I've been self medicating on dreamless sleep potion and whisky, I hadn't slept properly for the best part of 10 days. Almost every night I close my eyes a green light flashing and I can feel his curse hitting my chest, I can feel life leaving me, but every I still hear my mother dying every night; she screams "Not Harry; kill me instead" then he laughs and then a flash of green light. Sometimes I hear you screaming as Bellatrix tortures you and it's all because of me. I couldn't take any more because I caused these things and even though I love you with every...' his voice faltered as the realisation of his words started to hit home to him 'with every breath in my body, I don't deserve you.'

Hermione stood up and paced. This was nothing she had ever experienced before and no amount of reading would ever have prepared her for this. She stopped pacing in front of Harry and turned to look at him, he looked as though the air had been let out of him. 'Harry, what do you expect me to do with this information?' 'Nothing, Hermione, You've already given so much for me I can't ask any more from you.' She knelt down in front of him and took his hands in hers 'I waited for years to hear you say that and now when we're both married you get all noble and unload on me and tell me you don't want anything from me' he looked up at her, his emerald eyes shining 'Don't look at me like that' she said 'like what?' he asked 'like I'm you're everything'


	7. Chapter 7

A/N – Harry potter is owned by JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

This is not the end of the story; I have a few more things to add. I hope that you continue to read on

##

The kitchen of Grimmauld Place was a morose place, the youngest Weasley children sat in silence. A copy of the letter that Harry had sent to Kingsley and Minerva lay discarded on the table. The siblings' thoughts were with their partners and what other earth shattering confessions Harry might be planning to make. This was an uncomfortable silence that played on the darkest fears the oldest of the two, ever since the hunt, his fears were of only one thing.

'What's taking them so long?' asked Ginny, Ron sat silent staring into the middle distance, his thoughts turning over and over. 'Ron!' Ginny shouted and he jumped 'bloody hell! You didn't need to shout, I'm right here.' She asked again 'What's taking them so long?' Ron cleared his throat. 'Hermione is probably talking to him about the stuff that she's been going through, you know her nightmares and stuff. She's been seeing a Muggle mind healer. I think their called terrapins. An hour ever week she goes, and it helps her feel better.' Ginny looked at him uncomfortably 'she told me that she is going through the same stuff as Harry, maybe not to the same extent, I never realised it was this bad. How come you don't have these issues?'

Ron squirmed under his sister's gaze 'there are a few things that I've not told anyone about, Ginny, things I'm not proud of.' He could feel her eyes boring into him, very slowly and with a calmness that hid her ferocious temper she said, 'you had better tell me exactly what you have done, Ronald and you had better tell me right now.' Every word she spoke dripped with unspoken threats of severe and long lasting repercussions if he didn't divulge his secrets. 'Erm, well you know when we were on the hunt? Well when we got the locket back of old toad face, we Apparated to the doorstep but Yaxley grabbed Hermione, when we landed he lost his grip and we Apparated to some forest that she'd been to on holiday with her parents. I got badly splinched; I lost a fair amount of blood. They used dittany to help heal the wounds, but for a few weeks I was too weak to apparate so we walked. We took it in turn to wear the locket; it latched on to your worst fears and amplified them.' Ron played with the corner of the letter as he spoke. 'Go on' urged Ginny.

'Well there was this one night I had been listening to the radio when they did the roll call of the missing, trying to hear if one of the family had disappeared. Hermione was trimming Harry's hair when she said that she figured out how to destroy the horcruxes. They huddled together the way they do and I couldn't take any more. I used the Deluminator and told them that I was still there. Harry asked me what was wrong and I told him that it was bloody great that we had another thing to find. We had a huge fight about the radio, I told him that I was listening out for any word on my family, I told him he wouldn't know what that's like because all his family were dead.' At this Ginny stood up so fast her chair was propelled across the kitchen, her hand shot to her mouth. 'Oh my god...' he carried on 'I told Hermione that I was leaving and asked if she was coming, she said we agreed to stay help him. I said so you've chosen him have you? She said yes, I took of the locket, left the tent, and Apparated to Shell Cottage.'

Ginny stood in silence, her thoughts were screaming but no sound escaped her lips, Ron continued 'Bill and Fleur let me stay with them for a bit. I told them what had happened and for two days Bill couldn't even look at me, eventually he said "you better find them" every day for 2 months I went out looking for them, I looked everywhere I could think of. Places that seemed significant. I was almost caught by snatchers a few times.' Ginny's power of speech returned to her 'how did you find them?' she asked, her voice shaking with repressed anger, 'I wanted to get back to them from the moment I left. It was Christmas day and I was in this pub avoiding a group of snatchers and trying to get warm, I heard their voices, Harry and Hermione. I pulled out the Deluminator and I heard them saying my name and something about a wand. I clicked it and all the lights went out in the room and this blue ball of light appeared, kind of like the light you get on a Portkey. I grabbed my stuff and left the pub and Apparated to the side of a hill I searched there for two days and I couldn't find anything. I pulled out the Deluminator and the blue light appeared and I just knew where I had to be. I Apparated and when I came out of it I saw Snape's Patronus. I saw Harry climb jump into the frozen pond and waited for a long time and he never came up. I figured that he was in trouble so I jumped in and pulled him and the sword out.'

'Wait, you mean to tell me that my idiot brother pulled Harry out of a frozen pond with the sword of Gryffindor? That's a pile of dragon shit Ron and you know it. I don't know what's worse, that you're a fucking coward or a fucking liar.' Ginny sneered at him. 'When Harry realised that it was me he forgave me, not instantly but he did. He said that I was to destroy the locket otherwise what was the point in coming back? He opened the locket and I promise you Ginny that piece of his soul latched on to my fears and I felt so small and utterly helpless, then I showed me them together kissing. It showed me Hermione telling me that who would pick me over the Chosen one. Something went wrong in me Gin, something broke and I don't know how to make it right.'

Ron sat with his head in his hand while Ginny glared at him 'you really are a piece of work, do you know that? You know full well what that bastard Riddle did to me; you think it's funny do you? I could have fucking died in that chamber and now I have to listen to your shit excuses for betraying your best friends. That's fucking low, even for you.' Ginny started to storm away, what Ron said next stopped her dead in her tracks 'I know how you got Harry to marry you,' she turn round to see her brother still sitting with his head in his hands 'I know that you used love potion on him after the battle. I saw you pour it into his pumpkin juice.'

Ginny hesitated a little too long so Ron continued 'after I saw those images in the Horcrux I realised that I had lost her, I did everything I could to make up for being a coward and Harry even helped me. He's always been in love with her, no one stood a chance but he never knew that she was in love with him. He couldn't see a future with him in it so he didn't chase after her or anyone.' All colour drained out of Ginny's face as she dropped to her knees on the hard stone floor.

'Just after Snape died Harry watched the memories that Snape had given him and found out that Harry was a Horcrux. He was heading to the forest and saw Hermione and me sitting at on the marble star case and he told us what he was going to do. It was at this point I knew that I never stood a chance with her, she ran to him and threw her arms around him and said "I'll come with you" she was going to walk into hell side by side with him and I couldn't even last in a fucking tent. He told her to stay and kill the snake. Ever since that day I have been dosing her with small amounts of love potion maybe once or twice a week. I knew that she liked me but I needed to do something to push her over the line.'

In the commotion the sibling's never heard the floo activating, in the deathly silence following Ron's confession the clearing of their father throat made them jump 'how long have you been standing there?' they asked in unison his reply was 'long enough.'


	8. Chapter 8

A/N – Harry potter is owned by JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

This is not the end of the story; I have a few more things to add. I hope that you continue to read on

When Harry is responding to Ginny, he is paraphrasing the song "Save Me" by Queen

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Harry's emerald eyes transfixed her, as though they could see in to the very depths of her soul. All her defences were stripped away. Here at last was the absolute truth, Harry Potter was in love with her and it spoke to her feeling for him because she was in love with him. There was no pretending, no dancing round their feeling for each other.

Hermione leaned forward and rested her forehead against his, fighting the urge to kiss him and slap him silly. He spoke in the softest, sweetest voice she had ever heard 'I can't ask you for anything Hermione, it would be unfair of me to expect you to drop everything and run to me. I have hurt you enough but unloading this on you and I'm sorry truly I am sorry, but I couldn't go on not telling you how I felt, how I feel.' He lifted his head and kissed her forehead and said 'I'm moving to Hogwarts at the end of the term. I'd love to see my best friend at least once before I go.'

She smiled a sad smile at this last comment, knowing deep down inside that it would be too hard for her to see him go but just as hard to not see him. There were a few weeks left before he left so she could build up to it. She cleared her throat and said, 'we'd best get back.' They stood up; she instinctively took his hand, interlacing her fingers with her own. They way they had done countless times before. They walked in silence, both waiting for the other to say something but both too afraid to start the conversation. They walked to the far end of the village, Harry asked 'Ready?' she nodded 'ok, hold tight' instinct took over and she grabbed hold of Harry and said 'wait' he looked at her, her deep chocolate brown eyes holding him transfixed to the spot. She put her hand on his cheek and said 'you've always been there for me Harry, never asking for anything in return. Its only fair' she kissed him, softly at first, and then with a little more urgency that screamed this is what you could have had!

As their lips met, every synapse in his body seemed to fire at once; the rush of endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin made him feel like he was glowing. All the pain and sadness he had felt vanished. In this single moment of her lips on his, the world was as it was meant to be. There were no nightmares or suicidal thoughts, no arguments, not complaint, and no mistakes. For hours after their kiss both Harry and Hermione would swear that they could still feel the others lips against their own. When the kiss ended Hermione spoke in a soft whisper 'I will never forget the moment I fell in love with you Harry, and I'll never forget them moment you felt the same' Harry rested his forehead on hers and said, 'let's go'.

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The sound of Harry and Hermione's arrival cause the three Weasley's to stop shouting at each other. Arthur spun round to see Harry and Hermione coming into the kitchen and said in his usual cheery tone 'Harry! Hermione, it's great to see you up and about. My children have something that they need to talk with you both about.' 'Dad!' said the siblings together. 'Arthur rounded on his kids and shouted 'no more lies, Ron. No more secrets Ginevra. Either you tell them, or I will. Alone or together but you will tell them right now.'

The newcomers to the kitchen looked at their spouses and then to their father-in-law before Harry asked, 'can someone tell me what is going here?' the siblings started yammering incoherently, Arthur turn to his children and gave them a look that turned their blood to ice and stunned them to silence. 'Ron, living room now' said Hermione, while Harry intimated for Ginny to sit. Arthur put his hand on Harry's shoulder 'I didn't know about any of this Harry, I give you my word I didn't know about any of it.' He walked away looking deject and thoroughly ashamed of his children.

Harry wandlessly cast a silencing charm before sitting across from his wife, she started to talk but he held up his hand to stop her. 'Arthur is one of the most honourable and respectable people that I have ever met. The only time I have seen him this angry was when he punched Malfoy, you two must have some serious explaining to do, so please what do you have to tell me?' Ginny couldn't look him in the eye. With her voice faltering she said 'I erm, I did something really stupid Harry, a couple of times actually but you have to believe me I did it for the best of reasons.' He replied 'well what is it? It can't be that bad if it was for the best of reasons.' 'I know that you and Hermione are best friends, and all through school everyone thought that there was more to it even though you both denied it, I never once thought that you would notice me.' her eyes welled up and her voice grew think with emotion. 'You looked at her like she was the only person in the room, and no one else would ever come close to replacing her. She had your heart from the very beginning and poor little Ginny Weasley could never compete, who could?'

'Ron told me about the hunt and what he saw in the Horcrux, he told me how you promised him that there was nothing there between you and that you loved her like a sister. Is it true, what Ron said?' Harry nodded 'He left us; he walked out because the Horcrux amplified all his fears and he wasn't strong enough to fight it. When he did come back and he destroyed the locket we both saw his darkest fear, that Hermione would choose me over him. Maybe she would have done if I had shown any romantic feelings for her. Hermione made her choice, Ginny and I made mine.' Silent, fast tears fell from her eyes, 'what if you didn't make the choice? What if someone made it for you? Would you stay with me?' she asked, a glimmer of hope burned in her eyes 'You're not making sense Ginny, which choice was made for me?' she sat in silence for a moment before saying 'choosing me'

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'You need to calm down Hermione' pleaded Ron. He had seen his wife annoyed, angry, and pissed off; now he was seeing her incandescent with rage. 'You had better tell me what your father meant right now or so help me Ron a hexing will be the least of your worries.' Ron was panicking 'right, you're gonna want to sit down then' Hermione walked to the couch and sat down then fixed him with a stare that was a few shades from murderous. 'Don't make me start counting Ronald or there will be hell to pay.' 'erm, well it's... it's just that...' he began but Hermione cut in 'I have just spent the afternoon with my best friend telling me why he tried to kill himself, if he can have the courage to pour his soul out to me about why he did it then you can tell me what you to halfwits have messed up.'

This was like a red rag to a bull for Ron 'yeah Prince Harry can't do any wrong can he? My sister was distraught because of him, but all's forgiven isn't it?' Ron paced in front of the fireplace, growing more and more agitated. 'Listen Ronald, sit down and for once in your life and behave like an adult.' He stopped in mid stride and glared at her. He sat at the other side of the couch, and took a couple of deep breaths 'Hermione, do you love him?' before she knew what she was saying the words escaped her lips 'yes, I love him.' her words could not have hit him any harder, deflated and defeated he slouched against the back of the couch. He said 'The Horcrux was right, who would pick me over the chosen one?' Hermione snapped back 'I did' Ron sighed and shook his head 'no, Hermione, you didn't'

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'Please explain what you mean, I've had a long and tiring day, I'm not in the mood for riddles.' said Harry as he rubbed his weary face. 'During the battle I couldn't find you, I looked everywhere. I saw Ron and Hermione on the staircase and she was in bits and Ron was numb. He said that you were going to the forest and Hermione wanted to go with you. I knew then that I could never stand a chance of getting you back. You went to die for her, how could I compete with someone that you would willingly die for?' Ginny looked so small and vulnerable as she told him about the battle with Bellatrix. 'It was after she died that I saw it, the one chance, my only chance to win you back. I found a bottle of the love potion that Fred and George sold. Lavender always had a few, when I fell on the floor when mum pushed me away from Bellatrix curse; I saw it under the table. At breakfast a day or so after the battle I poured some into your pumpkin juice, it was a little after when we got together. I swear that was the only time, Harry.' He couldn't look at her without wanting to throw up; he felt sullied, used, treated like a piece of meat. He wanted to put his hands round her slender neck and squeeze the life out of her. He wanted to shout and rant and destroy things, instead he sat silently staring at the person he thought that he loved. After what seemed like an eon Harry spoke 'It started off so well, everyone said that we made the perfect pair, Ginny. All those years of care and loyalty were nothing but a sham, we lived a lie. I believed the lie!' he stood up and walked over to her and took her hands in his and knelt in front of her. 'What happened to the girl I almost died saving in that chamber, Ginny?' His soft and understanding tone broke her resolve. She wept uncontrollably as he pulled her from the chair and held to his chest and let her weep.

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'When you said that you would go into the forest with him I knew that I had lost you, and the thing is I can't hold it against either of you. Over the years I resented him because he had the fame and the gold that I wanted, and then when his name came out of the goblet I hated him for it. I watched how the girl I wanted stood by him through everything, even when he dated other girls. Never once did you leave his side, and he never saw it. When he told us that he was a Horcrux and had to die, I understood.' Hermione grew irritated with him, 'I don't mean to be rude, Ronald, but what did you mean I didn't choose?' he ran his fingers through his hair 'once a week since the morning after the battle, I have been giving you a small dose of love potion.' He never saw the punch that she threw at him, knocking him unconscious.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N – Harry potter is owned by JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

I would like to thank everyone that has read this story and left a review. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter.

Arthur Weasley emerged from the fireplace at his home, feeling a nagging sense of there being more to the story that both his youngest children told him. He needed to get to the bottom of this and as quickly as possible. 'Molly?' he called out, 'Yes dear?' she came through to the lounge and embraced her husband 'whatever is the matter?' Arthur sat on the couch, 'I've just left Grimmauld place and I have a feeling that there is going to be some bad news in the next few hours.'

The colour drained from Molly's face as he sat next to her husband, 'what's happened? Is Harry ok?' Arthur shook his head, at this molly shrieked and threw her hands to her mouth. 'He's resigned from the ministry and is taking up the defence post in time for the new term.' said Arthur, Molly swatted his arm 'that's not bad news Arthur' 'no, it's not' he said 'however finding out that his wife used Love potion on him after the battle, in my book counts as bad news. Add to that the Ron has being dozing Hermione at least once a week for the last 10 years, I think it's safe to say there is going to be more than a few tears.'

'They told you this?' Molly asked of her husband, he shook his head and said 'when I arrived at Grimmauld Place they were having a very loud argument, so loud that they didn't hear me floo in. I heard everything, Molly and it broke my heart to think that our children could stoop so low as to use love potion to trap Harry and Hermione.' Molly considered her husband, 'I'm sure that you are just over reacting and they'll be able to work it out.'

She stood up to head back to the kitchen. 'Molly, how can you act nonchalant about this? Do you have the faintest idea how much trouble Ginny and Ron will be in? Harry was the Head of the DMLE and he has nominated Hermione as his successor. This is serious.' Molly stopped and turned to face her husband 'Ginny has been in love with Harry since she was 9 years old, Arthur and it was very oblivious to me that Harry has always had a soft spot for her. Why else would he go into that chamber to rescue her?'

'Because it was the right thing to do, it didn't matter that she was his friend's sister.' Arthur replied, shocked at his wife's reaction. She didn't appear to hear him 'Ron and Hermione danced around each other for years, I'm surprised that it took them as long as it did. Okay so he needed to give her a little push to speed things up. No one said the course of true love would run smoothly.' Molly headed back to the kitchen; Arthur stood and followed her 'THEY COULD GO TO JAIL MOLLY!' Arthur very rarely raised his voice; the shock of it stopped her in her tracks. 'Love potions carry the same penalty as unforgivable curses. Harry and Hermione would be well within their rights to have their marriages annulled.' The colour drained from her face at the thought of this, 'well we'll just have to make sure that it doesn't come to that.'

'Exactly how are we to do that?' asked Arthur fearing her reply 'we'll Obliviate them, it'll be fine.' came the response he was dreading. 'You knew, didn't you? All these years you knew what our children had done?' 'Of course I knew!' she spat acerbically. 'I could see how close they were getting, even if they didn't realise it themselves. Ginny loves Harry and Ron loves Hermione, it was that simple. Ginny found a bottle in the great hall and I suggested that she "put it to good use", Ron saw her doing it and I suggested that he think of something similar.' This admission and his wives cavalier attitude was like a red rag to a bull for Arthur, he spoke in a tone that was menacing and left Molly in absolutely no doubt that she had crossed a line. 'I don't believe in hitting women Molly, but as god is my witness, right now I'm warming to the idea.'

Hermione stormed to the kitchen to find Harry on the floor with Ginny, the red headed Witch was still sobbing uncontrollably. Her fury grew to boiling point at the sight of the couple, 'I take it she told you what that bastard has been doing to me for the last 10 years?' Harry looked up in confusion 'sorry what?' she sat at the table and told him what had happened in the other room. He tried to stand, Ginny held him down 'don't go, Harry!' she pleaded. There had been very few times in his life when Harry's rage got the better of him, on one of these occasions he chased down Bellatrix Lestrange after she killed his Godfather.

Very slowly he said 'get of me Ginny.' He extricated himself from his wife and made for the door. Hermione stood in his way 'no Harry, it's not your fight.' His fury at their betrayal burned in his eyes, he stared at Hermione with an intensity that would have brought lesser mortals to their knees. She stood resolutely in his path and returned his glare with own of her own. 'This isn't your fight Harry; you'll only make things worse.' They stood facing each other for a few second before Harry turned, roared in anger and kicked the table across the room before slumping to floor. Ginny looked at Hermione standing in the doorway and said 'I didn't know, not until today, I swear!' Hermione looked at her sister-in-law and sneered 'no you were too busy being the darling of the media to notice that your brother was dosing your best friend with love potion; you didn't even see the warning signs when the supposed "love of your life" was falling apart.'

Ginny whimpered and drew her knees into her chest, she was about to speak when the trio heard a commotion from the other room. 'HERMIONE' Ron hollered. Harry sprang to his feet and rushed past Hermione, and intercepted Ron in the hallway. He grabbed his long time friend and threw him against the wall, pinning him there with his forearm across his throat, 'Harry, don't!' pleaded Hermione. Harry didn't move, his eyes where fixed on Ron's whose eyes were filled with panic. 'Hermione, take Ginny to the living room. Ron and I are going to go for a walk.' He pulled Ron to the front door and the Apparated away.

Hermione helped Ginny to her feet and took her to the living room. They sat across from each other, 'why don't you tell me what happened?' said Hermione in as conciliatory a tone as she could. Ginny's eyes never left the floor as she told Hermione everything, how she used the love potion only once on Harry because she was scared of losing him to her. Hermione called for Kreacher to bring them a pot of tea, Hermione got up and sat next to Ginny and put her arm around her. 'I should hate you for this, Ginny, but I can't bring myself to do that.' Ginny had no more tears to cry, she was exhausted and her eyes were red. Hermione held Ginny until the younger woman fell asleep, then she just held her.

When Harry and Ron arrived, he threw his friend on the floor. 'Does this look familiar to you Ron? This is where you abandoned us.' Ron sat up and looked about, harry walked over to him and hauled him to his feet and dragged him over to a tree 'You see this? She tied this here so you would know that we were here' Ron paled at the memory of his cowardice. 'You don't deserve her!' he let Ron fall to the floor. This shocked him to life 'you think you deserve her, do you? You've got everything you ever wanted and now you want my wife.' he got to his feet. 'You still don't get it do you Ron? I would have given every last Knut in my vault to have one day with my mum and dad, that's all I ever wanted.' said Harry after a moment he continued 'I lost everything, my parents, my godfather, every semblance of family I had was taken away from me but all you saw was this fucking scar and all the fame that came with it. Tell me Ron, where you ever truly my friend?' Ron spat 'of course I was your friend, but I couldn't take it Harry. I was jealous of how close you two were and I couldn't take it.' Harry considered this then said 'she cried nonstop for days because of you. She wanted you because I was with Ginny. You just didn't have the balls to ask her out yet again' Harry clapped his hand at Ron 'yet another monumental fuck up Weasley! Well fucking done!' Ron dived at Harry and caught him round the waist and both men landed on the leaf litter. They rolled on the floor trading blows, Ron pinned Harry to the floor and began punching him, and Harry took two punches to the face before kicking Ron off. The friends got to their feet and circled each other, 'come on then Harry, you want her so badly come and try and take her'

The atmosphere in the burrow was very tense when Bill arrived, 'Mum, Dad what's going on here?' His mother sat on the couch and his dad was pacing the room. 'Bill, dear, try and talk some sense into your father.' Arthur stopped and turned to his oldest son 'Bill did you know that Ron and Ginny had plied Harry and Hermione with love potion? Your mother seems to think that this is acceptable; she doesn't understand that that could spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban.' Bill looked at his mum, 'Is this true?' 'Which part dear? I don't think that Harry and Hermione would ever report Ginny and Ron to the ministry even if they are both head of the DMLE.' Bill rubbed his face in disbelief 'Are you serious? Mum this is really bad.' His mother smiled 'That's why we need to Obliviate them, dear.' Bill looked from his mother to his father 'Dad, where are they?' 'I left them at Grimmauld Place.' Bill went to fireplace and grabbed a handful of powder and called out 'Grimmauld Place' before disappearing in the flames.

When he appeared at Grimmauld Place, he saw Hermione holding his little sister as she slept. 'Bill, can you sit with Ginny? She's cried herself to sleep. Harry took Ron somewhere and I need to go and stop them from killing each other.' Bill took lifted his sister off the couch and took her to her bedroom. He heard Hermione Apparate away; hopefully she wouldn't be too late.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Harry Potter is not mine, I wish it was cause then I would be rich.

the loyalty quote is taken from Pinterest, the jokes from Google.

If you are offended by the redhead jokes please dont be, I am a redhead and no redheads where harmed in the writing of this chapter.

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Bill watched his little sister sleep, it was a fitful sleep full of knitted brows and low moans. She had been through many things over the years and while Harry had been at some point involved at no point could he attribute any blame to him; he was the one that saved her from the Basilisk and Tom Riddle, She fought alongside Harry at the department of Mysteries, and battled Death eaters the night that Dumbledore died. For her to do something as conniving as dose him with Love Potion just to win his affections, then she must have been very insecure and easily swayed by their mother. This was not like the little fire cracker that he remembered.

Ron, however, was neither conniving nor intelligent enough in his own right to come up with a plan like this of his own accord. His mother had said that she suggested that Ron copy Ginny's led and use the potion on Hermione, but for this long? That's a level of manipulation that she would and could quite easily pull off and Ron was stupid enough to go along with it. Bill rubbed his face and said out loud 'I hope Hermione finds them before they kill each other'

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Hermione Apparated close to the site they camped at when Ron left on the hunt, she heard the commotion before she saw it '...Potter you get to have everything?' she caught the tail end of Ron shouting before she heard the unmistakable sound of a punch landing on some ones face, she rushed in to the clearing and saw Harry standing over Ron, both men looked like they had given as good as they got. Harry grabbed Ron's t-shirt and pulled him up 'ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU' ordered Hermione, Harry let go of Ron and walked away, Ron bent over with his hands on his knees said 'Thank you, sweetheart' Hermione, enraged, pulled out her want and shouted ' _Levicorpus'_ Ron screamed as he dangled by his ankle 'you ever call me sweetheart again, you lying bastard, and I will use a cutting spell and start calling you Rhona, is that clear.' Being threatened with your genitals is a sure-fire way to get the result you want.

'How could you do that to her, Ron? Her of all people?' asked Harry from across the clearing, Hermione tried to say something, but he held his hand up, 'she almost died in first year because of you, constantly made fun of her and caused me to fall out with her over a broom and then at that carry one with Lavender.' Ron hung there mutely, so Harry carried on 'all I ever wanted was my Mum and Dad, I would have given everything up just to see them for one day.' Harry had never cried in front of Ron before but bringing up his desire to know his parents was too much for him. 'YOU LEFT US, YOU BETRAYED US!' Harry couldn't trust himself to say anymore so he turned and walked away.

'Hermione, I'm your husband, let me down!' Hermione rounded on Ron and said as coldly as she could 'not for much longer.' Before she turned away and followed Harry. Harry had walked about a hundred feet away from the clearing and sat down beneath a sweet chestnut tree, a little in the distance he could hear sound of the River, the same river that they heard Dean, Ted Tonks and Griphook talking. He tried to think of a simpler time in his life, when everything had gone the way it was planned, he realised that his life had been one failed plan after another. Wither it be Dumbledore's plan to keep him safe, or the Dursley's plan to "beat" the freakishness out of him, or the order's plan to move him before his mothers' protection failed. He saw Hermione, who was walking towards him, silently wipe a tear from her face 'Are you alright?' he called out to her. She nodded, 'why did you take him, Harry?'

Harry had the good grace to look down at the leaves on the ground, ashamed with his own actions. 'I can understand why Ginny did what she did; she was scared and easily led. I know that she regrets what she did, But Ron.' He shook his head 'All my life everyone has tried to control me in one way or another. The Dursley's, Dumbledore, even the ministry. I never thought that someone I considered my brother would try to control me. Pettigrew betrayed my parents; Snape betrayed my mother and they never knew. How can someone do that to the people that love them, Hermione? Can you answer that, because I'm at a total loss?' Hermione knelt down beside him and took his hand in hers 'He was controlling us both, Harry, the three of them where.' She said, Harry looked at her and asked 'so, what now?' Hermione stood and pulled him to his feet, 'first you kiss me, like you should have done when we were at school' playfully admonished him 'then we do what we've always done, we face it head on, together.'

Harry put his slightly bloodied left hand against her right cheek, and softly stroked her face with his thumb. He looked into her eyes, her irises where deep chocolate brown with flecks of gold that seemed to catch the sunlight. He could be lost for hours in these never ending pools of comfort. He leaned towards her; her lips slightly parted, their lips touched hesitantly at first. Years of unspoken desire was being held at bay by nothing more than their held breath. They kissed again, this time with urgency, with desire, and with longing. For too long they had watched as others had staked a claim to the price that they alone deserved and now that the deepest secrets of their souls had been shared to each other, the remaining barriers came down. Their kiss lasted no longer than a few heartbeats but in those moments glaciers receded, suns exploded, and star systems collapsed. It was a kiss that sonnets and epic tragedies would be composed to tell of.

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Ginny woke with a start, unsure of where she was or how she got there. In the chair at the side of the bed she recognised his favourite brother. If he was here then he knew of her duplicity, and if he knew that then he would be ashamed of her. She lay still for a few minutes trying to gage if Bill was asleep or not, believing he was sleeping she sat up. Bill said 'oh good you're awake, now you can tell me your side of the story.' Ginny felt her stomach drop, 'Dad has been having a few choice words with Mum about her part in this entire mess, we'll deal with Ron later but you Gin, you can tell me your story.'

Ginny sat ashen faced on the bed as she retold her story, after a while Bill said 'Ginny, why didn't you come to me? I could have helped you or at least been there with you when you told Harry, he's a reasonable guy.' This set Ginny off, as the tears rolled down her cheeks she said 'that's just it Bill, he didn't shout at me or anything. He spoke to me and then comforted me as I cried.' Bill reached out and took her hand and said 'That's just Harry. You hurt him and you showed him how much you regret what you did, that will go a long way to rebuilding your friendship with him. You know that you've lost him, right?' Ginny nodded 'he was never really mine to begin with; he's always been Hermione's even if he was too scared to admit it.'

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Harry and Hermione walked hand in hand into the clearing that Ron was "hanging around"in, he scowled at them as them came closer to him 'GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE!' he roared, Harry smiled at him and said 'I had a friend that thought he was really smart, one day he says to me "Onions' are the only food that can make you cry" so I threw a coconut at his face' Ron looked confused, Harry continued 'Tell me something Ron, What's the difference between a Red head and a Vampire?' Hermione tried her best not to snigger, Ron just looked from Hermione to Harry and back. 'Don't Know? I'll tell you; one is a pale, bloodsucking creature that avoids the sun. The other is a vampire.' Hermione turned away; Harry looked at the upside down Ron and said 'Did you know, Ron, that Red heads are a lot like anal sex, they're both a pain in the arse.'

The visibly unamused Ron said 'are you quite finished?' Harry replied 'I'm going give you a piece of advice and I suggest that you pay very close attention to what I am about to say because now that I think about it, it's long overdue; Never push a loyal person to the point where they no longer give a fuck. You've got a hell of a lot to answer for Ron.' And with that Harry waved his wand and said _'Liberacorpus'_ and Ron landed on his head.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Harry Potter is not mine, I wish it was cause then I would be rich.

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Hermione Apparated into Grimmauld Place first, Bill heard the pop of her arrival and went down the stairs. Seeing just Hermione caused a look of confusion to spread across his face before the bloodied Harry and Ron arrived. Harry shoved Ron towards Bill and said 'Can you deal with him for me, Bill?' Bill nodded; Harry and Hermione went through to the kitchen as Bill and Ron Apparated away, 'Kreacher?' called Harry, the elderly house elf appeared 'Yes Mister Harry?' 'Kreacher Hermione and I are going to wrote a few letters, when we are done would you mind delivering them, please?' even 10 years Kreacher still found it hard to be asked to do something instead of being ordered,'Kreacher can do that for you, mister Harry' Harry smiled and said 'Thank you, my friend.' With this Kreacher vanished'.

Kreacher delivered the letters to friends and people that Harry considered family the following morning; the letter was asking them to attend dinner the next day at Grimmauld Place. So far the story of what Ginny and Ron had done had been kept to the five Weasley's as well as Harry and Hermione. The dinner was where everything would come out and the punishments would be meted out to the guilty parties. It had been a very long day, both emotionally and physically. The pair had a light dinner before heading to one of the spare rooms, where they promptly fell asleep holding each other, still dressed.

Ginny woke with a start, the bed was beside her was cold and empty. She had hoped that everything was nothing more than a nightmare, and when she woke everything would go back to normal. Unfortunately reality set in not long after she opened her eyes. She looked at the alarm clock, it read 0236hrs. She didn't know how long she had slept, but her eyes felt raw and dry, her throat was tight and she still had her clothes on from the day before. She lay in the dark wondering what would happen to her now, Harry had been kind to her, far more kind than she deserved. Even Hermione, after the initial outburst, had comforted her. She wondered if this was how Harry felt in the days running up to his suicide attempt; the not knowing what came next. For the next few hours she thought about her life, where she was going to live, would Harry arrest her, Ron and her Mother.

She decided that she would take whatever punishment without complaint. She lied to and betrayed her friends; she really had no cause to complain. She watched the sky begin to change colour from midnight blue, through purples, pinks and reds to blue. The dawn chorus began in earnest, Ginny got up; showered and got ready to face the day ahead.

A few hours later Harry and Hermione woke and the realisation that the spent the night together dawned on both of them. 'Erm... Morning!' said Harry nervously; Hermione giggled at his discomfort 'you've fought Tolls, Dragons, and Basilisks but the thought of waking up next to me gets you nervous. I don't know if I should be taking that as an insult of a compliment' she teased. The beaming smile on her face caused his nerves to evaporate like dew in the morning sun, 'Well Miss Granger, how would it be if I was to kiss you right about now?' she knitted her brow in mock consideration and said 'I think that would be acceptable, Mr Potter, after all I am in your bed.' He leaned closer and kissed her. She entwined her fingers with his and hooked her left leg over his, when the kiss ended Harry said 'next time, I won't be wearing shoes to bed, just so you know. I know I have a habit of doing weird things like having toast with butter and jam, or stirring my coffee three times and my tea four times, but wearing shoes in bed is not a thing.' Hermione's radiating smile returned 'duly noted, weirdo!' a look of faux outrage spread across his face 'the cheek of it! Why do I even like you?' she swatted his arm 'so you admit that you do like me then?' she asked 'like, hmm like, do I like Hermione Granger? How about I put it this way; you will always be my favourite hello and my hardest goodbye.' At this she engulfed him in her arms and held him, nothing else needed to be said.

##

At Shell cottage Ron Weasley sat on the beach wondering just how his life had unravelled so spectacularly, this time yesterday he had just about everything he had always wanted. Fast forward 24 hrs he wasn't sure if he had a change of clothes never mind anything. His best friend had kicked his arse, his wife would have made good on her promise to dismember him and now his brother was so disgusted with him, he wouldn't even speak with him. As he sat he didn't hear Fleur calling out to him, when she tapped him on the shoulder he almost jumped out of his skin 'bloody hell! Sorry Fleur I didn't realise you were there' 'I called you, breakfast is getting cold' she said, in the 11 years that she and Bill had been married her English had improved, only every now and again did her accent slip. She helped him to his feet and they walked back to the cottage in silence.

Bill was sitting at the table, considering the letter that Kreacher had left him when Ron and Fleur came back in. 'We have been invited to a dinner at Grimmauld Place tomorrow' he said 'Ron said 'I'll watch Vicky and Dominique for you' Bill shook his head 'No Ron you don't understand. We have all been invited, it's a Potter tradition that when there is important news that needs to be shared, they hold a dinner and everyone hears it firsthand. I expect that a few people will be quite uncomfortable tomorrow night.' With that Bill got up and started to walk away before stopping at his brother 'Just so we are clear about things, Ron, you are here as a favour to Harry. After everything that he has done for our family, you treated him and Hermione like shit. Be thankful that he didn't kill you yesterday.' Ron paled as Bill walked past him, kissed Fleur and left the room.

##

Harry and Hermione had agreed on how things were going to go today, She was spending the day with her parents and telling them everything and Harry was going to take Ginny away for a little bit. Hermione Apparated directly to her parents house and began the story. Harry made his way to the kitchen. 'Ginny?' He called out 'I'm in here Harry' she replied Harry walked to the sun room and sat beside her. Yesterday I said that I was going to spend time with you Hermione and Eon to explain a few things to you al, do you remember?' she nodded, he carried on 'so go and get ready and we can go. I have so many things that I need to say to you.' Ginny didn't need to be told twice, she got up and walked away.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Harry Potter is not mine, I wish it was cause then I would be rich.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you have taken the time to read my little work of fiction; the comments have all been gratefully received. I am not 100% certain how long this story will go on for but please rest assured that I will finish what I have started.

Thanks.

##

Ginny hurried back to Harry, a brief flicker of hope sparked in her heart when he held out his hand to her. 'Take my hand' he said, she smiled and took his hand, Harry turned on the spot and they disappeared. They reappeared in an office, Ginny looked at Harry and said 'Where are we Harry, I don't understand?' Harry let go of her hand and took a seat at the table in front of a small pile of paper, 'take a seat Gin, I have a lot to tell you.' She sat across from him, still confused about things. 'Two weeks ago I had these papers drawn up. When I was in the hospital I did a lot of thinking, about us; about where my life is going and the things that I have done. I realised that I was tired; I've been fighting the darkness since my first year at Hogwarts. Voldemort is gone, the death eaters are gone and our society is changed for the better. I'm tired of the constant fight, I don't sleep, and I barely eat. I can't keep doing this.' Harry looked at Ginny; the years of constant fighting were etched on his face, Ginny started to understand where this was going 'Harry...!' he held up his hand and said 'I felt this for a while and the only thing yesterday didn't was to bring this forward.'

Harry pulled out a document from the pile and handed it to Ginny 'This is a notice of annulment, as you can see this means that our marriage is struck from the record books, you will not have access to the Potter and black vaults, businesses, or properties. You will also not that I have arranged from you to receive a stipend of 5000 galleons a months for 20 years as is standard protocol. In addition to this I have arranged for you to have access to a cottage in Ottery St Catchpole.' Ginny felt numb, she sat in stunned silence as Harry carried on 'You lied to me, you deceived me and you would have continued with this charade for the rest of our lives.' Harry took a moment to conjure a glass of water; the last few days had really done a number on his still healing throat. 'Right now I am beyond angry with you. I thought that you loved me; this isn't what you do to someone that you love. You and Ron almost took away the one person that has never walked away from me, you didn't even give me a choice and for that I'll never forgive you.'

Harry pulled out another document and handed it to Gunny 'this is an official invite to dinner at Grimmauld Place tomorrow, attendance is mandatory.' Ginny looked at the invite, then to Harry and said 'why are you giving me a house and all that money if you've ended our marriage?' Harry said 'This is standard protocol in our society, and just because I've ended things doesn't mean that I didn't feel something for you at one point. You were my friend and maybe in time you can be again but you will have to earn my trust before I can call you friend again.' Ginny had never seen the professional side of Harry before, his cold and emotionless tone left her with no doubt that he was reining in his feelings. 'Ginny I think that it would be for the best that you move in to the cottage tonight. The cottage has an elf called Greta; she will perform the same duties at Kreacher.' Harry called the elf 'Greta, this Ginny, she will be staying at the cottage I want you to help her to move all her things from Grimmauld Place. Although she is staying there she is not a Potter any longer, please follow her instructions.' Greta nodded and said to Harry 'As you say, Mister Harry', Greta turned to Ginny 'Miss Ginny, I'll take you to the cottage now.' Greta reached out to take Ginny by the hand. Harry said 'I'll speak with Ragnok and arrange to have your things moved from the Potter vaults to your own. I will expect you tomorrow at 6, the floo will be open.' With that Greta Apparated both of them to the Cottage; Harry calmly sat down and filed the documents away before vanishing them. He squeezed his eyes closed, a solitary tear escaped and rolled down his face. He stood and placed both hand on the table and said in an almost unheard whisper 'ten years wiped away in a second.' His pent up rage knew not bound, as he gave in and destroyed the room.

All the hate, hurt and aggression that he felt was unleashed on the poor unsuspecting furniture. In the surrounding offices, everything stopped; the noise of chairs ricocheting off the wall and the animalistic roars brought a crowd to the hall outside the conference room. The noise ended as suddenly as it started. Harry knelt on the floor amid the wreckage, the door to the room opened a little and one of the secretaries peered in, before closing the door and hurrying off to make an urgent floo call. A couple of minutes passed before Minerva McGonagall entered the room 'I assume that the reason for this scene is the reason for tomorrow night's dinner?' Harry's voice broke a little as he spoke 'partly.' He looked round and saw the elderly witch and his resolve collapsed. She made her way through the wreckage and knelled beside him. 'I remember a time, not too long ago, I found myself in a similar position with a man that was going through a tumult of emotion not to dissimilar to you. He couldn't reconcile what had happened and his part in it, I will give you the same advice that I gave him. "Accept what is, Let go of what was and have faith in what will be." I am proud to say that Albus Dumbledore took on board that single piece of advice and became the man that you knew. Yes he had achieved so very much before then but the fact that his sister died and he could have been the cause of it haunted him for so many years.' Harry wiped his face and embraced his favourite teacher, 'I'll try professor.' Minerva stood and helped Harry to his feet, 'I think we should do something about this room before we leave, don't you?' She rebuilt the furniture with a couple of waves of her wand. She Apparated them to Grimmauld Place and left him with Kreacher before sending a Patronus to Hermione.

##

Hermione walked in through the backdoor 'Mum, Dad?' she called out 'We're in the living room sweetheart' he father called out to her, 'and bring another cup' she reached for her favourite mug and went to the living room. Her mum stood and hugged her as she walked in 'this is a lovely surprise, we weren't expecting to see you until tomorrow at this dinner Harry has invited us to' she smiled 'That one of the reasons I'm here, I need to talk with you both about a few things.' She became nervous, her father looked at her, patted the seat next to him and said 'whatever it is you can tell us.' Hermione sat next to her father and poured herself a mug of tea with a splash of milk before talking a deep breath, 'you remember that a couple of weeks ago Harry had an accident?' her parents nodded, she continued her voice trembling with emotion 'he tried to kill himself mum.' She couldn't hold back the tide of her emotions, she out her hand to her moth to stifle the sobs as her father put his arms round her.

She wept at the thought of what might have happened, she wept at the thought of seeing her friends body; lifeless and cold, but mainly she wept because of what might never have happened. Her mother came and sat next to her as her father continued to comfort his little girl; she stayed in his arms until the tears stopped. After a while her mother softly asked 'how is he now, honey?' Hermione sniffed and sat up and gave her mother the biggest smile 'that's the thing, so many things happened because of this and not all of them are bad.' All through school Hermione had confided in her mother her true feelings for Harry, so it was a surprise to them that she had married Ron. The megawatt smile she received told her that finally they were together, 'What about Ginny and Ron?' her mum asked. Hermione grew quiet and spoke almost in a whisper 'a couple of days after the Harry killed Tom, Ginny gave him a glass of pumpkin juice laced with love potion, and it was right after this that they got together.' Her parents stared at her wide eyed; she lowered her eyes and concentrated on her mug. 'It was around this time that Ron and I started seeing each other, if you remember I became rather infatuated with him.' Hermione felted ashamed at the memory. Her dad picked up on her reticence he took her hand and asked 'what are you not telling us, sweetheart?' she looked at him, the shame of being duped for the last ten years was burning in her eyes.

How could the smartest witch of her age be so easily deceived, and by someone as dim witted as Ronald Weasley? 'Ron gave me love potion too.' She looked to her mum and said 'we just found out yesterday, Ron had been giving me a dose of love potion once a week for the last ten years.' He father erupted and sprang from the couch 'I'll wring his fucking neck for him, the greasy little shit.' Hermione had never seen her father lose his temper before, his face was purple with pent up fury. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to his daughter, 'Harry is head of the law in your world, what's he doing about it?' he demanded 'Dad, I had to stop Harry from killing Ron yesterday, this was after I broke his nose for him.' this brought a smile to her father's face.

Hermione continued 'because of this our marriage is deemed to have never happened, it's been completed wiped from the record books. I stopped off at the office before I arrived and spoke with Kingsley, he granted me an annulment.' Hermione was about to continue when a silver cat bounded into the room taking them all by surprise, Minerva McGonagall spoke "Hermione, Harry needs you, we are at 12 Grimmauld Place" all the colour drained from her face, she looked from her mother to her father as fear gripped at her heart 'mum...' she began but her mother cut her off 'Go, Harry needs you. Call us tonight.' And with that Hermione was up and running to the back garden.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N – Harry potter is owned by JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

Next up after this is the Potter Dinner...

##

Arthur had read and re-read the letter in his hand countless times; he had heard of the Potter dinners but had never experienced one first hand. He hoped that this would not be to bruising for his family to endure. Molly was adamant that this invite was proof positive that she was right and that all she had done would be forgiven if not applauded, after all she only had done what was best for them all. Percy came through the floo 'Father, I see that you have received an invite to this dinner tomorrow. What could be so important that it need the minister to be in attendance? Potter has always had a lofty impression of himself.' Arthur didn't rise to the bait, 'Percy, this is how the Potters do their business.' Percy sneered indignantly 'I won't go. Who is he to order me about?'

Arthur didn't get a chance to respond to his pompous son; Penelope came through the floo and heard her husband. 'He is the head of the DMLE and head of one of the sacred 28, namely the Blacks, as well as Head of the Potters who should have been on that list. Not to mention almost everyone in attendance owes him a life debt, you have no choice but to attend.' Percy froze as his wife rebuked him; he muttered 'I don't owe him a life debt.' Penny replied 'no, but I do. It wasn't just Ginny he saved when he killed the basilisk, without him we wouldn't have our daughters. You will show him the respect he is due and stop being such a pompous arse.' She smiled serenely at him, he knew better then to argue with that smile.

Molly heard the raised voices and rushed through from the kitchen 'Percy; Penelope, how are you both? Did I hear you mention the Potter dinner? Of course I wouldn't expect anything less for such important news; I imagine that they will be announcing that they are with child.' The look of satisfaction on her face gave Arthur a feeling of severe nausea, 'Molly we don't know what they will announce, I would think that with your actions recently coming to light the least you can expect is a public dressing down.' The venom in his words was not lost on Penelope 'Arthur, what's going on?'

##

Fleur was stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. On one hand she had her husband, the kind and loyal friend that had won her heart by seeing the person and not the Veela. He was hurting because of the actions of mother and younger siblings, and on the other she had Ron, her well meaning and slightly inept brother in law. She could tell that Ron was hurting too, but she couldn't figure out if it was because of the hurt that he had caused his friends or because he'd been found out. 'Bill, you have to talk with him. This isn't like the time he abandoned 'arry and 'ermione. He needs to realise how serious this is, he looks up to you.' Bills scared face looked stony and cold as she spoke; he had resigned himself to the fact that he would eventually have to talk with his brother. He had hoped that Ron would be the one to make the first move.

'I'll go talk to him, see if Harry knocked some sense into his thick skull.' He stood up and kissed his wife before going to find his brother. Ron was sitting beside Dobby's grave; he had never really understood why Harry was so cut up about Dobby's death until now. Dobby was a far better friend to Harry than Ron had ever been. He didn't look up as Bill walked up the slope, he said 'Harry was devastated when Dobby died and at the time I couldn't understand it. It wasn't until we lost Fred that I figured out what he went through when Sirius died, to lose someone who was that important to you it changes you. He almost lost Hermione that night too, Dolohov's curse hit her in the chest and he completely lost it. When Neville found her pulse, fire burned in his eyes. We were all out of one way or another; he fought like a devil because his friends were in danger.' Tears began to form in his eyes as he recalled the battle, 'Bellatrix hit Sirius with a curse and he fell into the veil. Something inside him broke, Bill. He chased her down, threw the Cruciatus curse at her and somehow managed to fight Voldemort off after he invaded his mind.' Bill knelt beside his brother and let him continue to unload. 'Before Harry went in to the forest, he found Hermione and me on the marble staircase. He told us what he was going to do; she was devastated when he told her to stay. She would follow him to hell and back, how could I compete with that Bill? When Hagrid was carrying his body, part of me was relieved Bill. What kind of person does that make me? I thought my best friend was dead and all I could think was that I would get the girl.' Ron wiped his face and sniffled 'when he got up and started throwing curses about this place, I knew that I had no chance with Hermione.' He looked at Bill and said 'I've really fucked things up, haven't I?' Bill considered his brother for a moment and said 'yes Ron, you really have.'

##

The icy fingers of fear gripped her heart as she burst through the door of Grimmauld Place, 'Harry!' she called out, Minerva called back 'we're in the kitchen.' She rushed through and saw Harry shakily put his cup of tea down; he got to his feet and went to her, engulfing her with his arms. He breathed in her scent and visibly relaxed, Minerva said 'Mr Potter annulled his marriage, destroyed a conference room and had a rather sizable panic attack. All in all I would say it has been an eventful morning. I trust I can leave my defence professor in your capable hands Miss Granger?' she gave a wry smile and excused herself and left the couple alone. 'I was so worried when that Patronus arrived; I shot out of my parent's house and got here as fast as I could.' Harry held her as tightly as she held him, 'Promise me Hermione, that you'll never leave me? I can take any but loosing you would end Me.' she grinned at his words, this was all she had ever wanted to hear. 'Could I come back to your parents with you?' she nodded and said 'let's go'

##

Penelope sat in stunned silence; ever Percy had the presence of mind to be disgusted at his mother's behaviour. 'Dad, what are we going to do?' asked Percy. 'Honestly son, there really isn't anything that we can do. I gave Harry my word that I knew nothing of this, I only hope that he believed me. That boy has done so much for this family and for the three people he was closest to, to have done this to him; well the ramifications could be very severe.' Molly took great displeasure at this 'Arthur, really! I have treated that boy like a son, and Hermione like a daughter. I only did what I thought was in their best interests. Everyone knew that Ginny had been in love with Harry since she was a little girl, why wouldn't he want to be with her? And Hermione should feel privileged that a Pureblood took her as his wife.' this lit a fire under Penelope. 'Molly, you broke the law, you made your children break the law and you forced two innocent parties in to marriages that should never have happen. You could lose your life over this, or don't you understand how serious this is? Voldemort was conceived while his father was under the influence of a love potion. This is why the punishment for their use is so severe, and then you spout blood supremacy nonsense; what exactly do you think we fought two wars to get rid of? What do you think that your brothers and your son died for? Not to mention the burden that Harry was forced to carry since he was just a baby. You need help Molly and until you get it, you will not be welcome in our house.' Penelope got up and activated the floo 'Percy!' she called to her husband. Molly said 'Percy Ignatius Weasley, are you going to allow your wife to speak to me like that?' Percy stood and said 'Yes, mother I am, and to be perfectly honest it was long overdue. Father I'll see you tomorrow, if you see Harry before I do please give him our best wishes.' Percy followed his wife without as much as a backwards glance.

Molly bristled 'the nerve of that girl, I've got a good mind to send her a howler.' Arthur said 'you'll do well to heed her words, Molly, because right now your life hangs on the goodwill of two of the most powerful people in our world. So before tomorrow night's dinner, I suggest you do some research on the reasons why love potions were banned and the penalties for using them.'


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: JK Rowling's Wizarding world makes this piece of writing possible, it's her baby.

I know that some of you were hoping for a huge chapter of drama, fights, action and maybe some deaths. The dinner will take a wee bit of planning and hopefully it won't be too long in coming.

##

The Grangers heard the Harry and Hermione arrive and went through to the kitchen, deeply concerned. 'Is everything alright, sweetheart?' her mother asked as the couple came through the back door, 'Hi Mrs Granger, Mr Granger. I'm really sorry that Hermione got called away earlier.' Said Harry as Hermione embraced her mother. Her dad said 'Harry, we've know you since Hermione was twelve I think we can dispense with the formalities.' The men shook hands and Harry said 'it's just force of habit sir, I mean Dan' this brought a smile to the older man's face.

The went back through to the living room, the Grangers sat on one couch Harry sat on the other beside Hermione and held her hand the entire time, something that was not lost on her mother. 'Hermione, dear can you help me make some coffee?' she gave her daughter a look that said she wanted to speak with her, the women got up and left their men folk to sit in an awkward silence. 'I understand that, yet again, we owe you a debt of gratitude for almost killing Ron.' Harry had the good grace to look a little ashamed of his actions, 'Dan your daughter means everything to me. Her safety and well being is, as far as I'm concerned, sacrosanct and no matter who it is, if they hurt her they will answer to me.' 'Fuck sake Harry, has anyone ever told you how scary you when you are serious? I could swear the temperature dropped in here.' Dan chuckled. Harry's face went slightly red.

'Alright mum, what do you want to know?' asked Hermione, standing just inside the kitchen with her arms folded and an eye brow raised. Her mother busied about filling the kettle 'I'm sure I don't know what you mean, could you pass the cups over?' responded her mum. Hermione stood for a moment and considered her mother before passing her the cups as asked. 'Is it just me or did the temperature drop in here?' said her mum, 'Yes it did, that means that Harry has just got deadly serious about something. It happens every time, so to answer your unasked questions, yes Harry and I are now together. No he's no longer married it was annulled this morning and he had a massive panic attack right after he gave Ginny the paperwork.' Her mum smiled 'I gathered that you two had finally got together from your huge smile earlier. I can tell you now; your father and I are pleased for you both. You bring the cups and the biscuits on the tray I'll bring the coffee pot.'

'Dan, tomorrow at the dinner you will hear a lot of things about what happened during school; the war, and since then. Please don't react to what you hear, I have spoken with Kingsley about this dinner and he has held off accepting my resignation until the end of the month. I will be acting as head of bother the Black and Potter families as well as the Director of the DMLE. Justice will be carried out.' Said Harry just as the women came back through, Dan spoke up and said 'Emma, Harry is asking us to not react to the things that we hear at the dinner tomorrow. I know it will be hard for us to hear a lot of the things that have happened but I think we need to do what he asks.' His eyes never left Harry. Emma sat down and said ok, we'll go with the flow. What can you tell us about the dinner?'

Harry sat back and relaxed a little 'my family is one of the oldest Wizarding families on the UK, going back many hundreds of years, in fact we should have been in the "sacred 28" but due to Potter being considered "too Muggle" a name. We have always been at the forefront of Wizarding society in one way or another. Whenever something significant needed to be announced the head of the family would call together their own family and any closely tied in families to make a public announcement, this way there could be no misunderstandings or misquoting in the press. The last Potter Dinner was held in 1979 when my parents told their family and friends that they were expecting me. This was not publicised in the media, and shortly after that they went into hiding. It was only a couple of years ago that I discovered the tradition.'

##

The morning of the dinner arrived. People were due to arrive at 1800hrs, the guest list was extensive. They had "invited" the Weasley's, the Longbottoms, the Scamander's, Andromeda Tonks, the Delacour's, the Grangers, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Poppy Pomfrey and Minerva McGonagall. All in there would be a full house for the events of the evening. As was customary business would take place after dinner, this at least allowed them all to have a hearty meal.

Harry and Hermione awoke in each other's arms, this time there was no rushing off, no soon to be former spouse's still in the house. They had talked long into the night about their feelings for each other, when they began to grow into more and friendship, why they didn't act upon them sooner and now that they were together, where did they go from here? Harry knew that Hermione was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and if he didn't ask her to be his wife, he would spend the rest of his life regretting it. He had considered asking her last night but thought it would be better to wait at least a week before speaking with Dan about it.

For the second night in a long time both slept soundly with no nightmares, they put this down to being close to the person that made them whole. 'We need to get you some formal dress robes.' said Harry, Hermione countered this 'I already have some' he smiled 'not made out of acromantula silk and not with the Potter crest on them.' She raised her eyebrows at this 'Harry that too much!' She tried to protest 'Hermione, love, I have more money than I know what to do with. I have the entire Potter fortune and half the Black fortune, after I gave Andi half of it and set up a trust fund for Teddy. If I can't treat the love of my life, then who can I treat?' she pretended to pout, Harry smiled at this playful side of his girlfriend before tickling her and kissing her into submission. 'Alright, alright I give in' she gasped between tickles. 'Good, now I wanted to ask you something.' He avoided looking her in the eye, this worried her a little 'go on.' She said as she sat up in the bed 'well, I was wondering if you'd like to move in with me?' a smile spread across her lips 'I think I can manage that.'

##

1800hrs arrived and Harry opened the floo before instructing the staff to show everyone to the dining room. Hermione's parents had arrived an hour before and had been briefed on how things were going to play out. Harry had employed waiting and catering staff for the evening, Kreacher was attending as a member of the family. The first to arrive by floo were the Longbottoms, followed by Bill, Fleur and Ron, who was under strict orders to engage his brain before his mouth. Harry, Hermione and her parents sat in the library as the guests arrived. There was a knock at the door, Harry called out 'Come in' Bill opened the door and walked in and said 'Harry do you have a moment?' sensing that this was a private thing he followed him out to the hall. 'H-Harry...' stuttered Ron.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Harry Potter and all the Wizarding world belongs to J.K Rowling, no offence is intended.

##

'Ron, I told you to stay with Fleur. You've caused enough trouble.' Bill raged at his brother, Harry's eyes never left the younger Weasley. 'I eh, I didn't think.' mumbled Ron 'That the fucking problem Ron, you never think.' Ron turned and walked away like a scalded puppy. Bill turned to Harry 'Look Harry, I'm really sorry about this I didn't know he was out here. I realise that this will come up after dinner, but I wanted to give you my word that the only member of the family that were involved in this were Mum, Ron and Ginny. I know that you don't owe us anything, but I would ask you not to write us all off.' Bill spoke with complete sincerity, Harry smiled to the older man 'all I ask is that my family and friends are loyal. I don't expect blind obedience; your family was there for me when no one else was, except for Hermione of course. I was taken in, fed and treated like one of the family. That means more to me than you could possibly know, it also means that what Ron did breaks my heart. He wasn't just my friend, he was my brother and that's the only reason he's still breathing.' Bill could see how hard this night was going to be for Harry, and then men shook hands and left the hall.

Only four seats were vacant in the dining room, these belonged to Harry, Hermione and her parents. Initially Molly tried to cause a fuss when they were being seated through her protests about Ginny not being seated next to her "husband" Bill was about to correct her when Ginny told her in no uncertain terms to 'sit down and shut up'. Molly gawped like a fish at her daughter's rebuke, Percy beamed at his little sister.

After a few minutes Harry, Hermione and the Grangers came in; Harry and Hermione sat at the head of the table, Emma, sat on Harry's right and Dan on his daughters left. At the far end of the room stood the head waiter, Harry nodded in his directions and the meal began. General small talk broke out among the guests. Molly tried to ingratiate herself with Fleurs parents to no avail, Charlie, who was aware that there was some tension bubbling under the surface but hadn't been made privy to the goings on, spoke with the headmistress about magical creatures. Kingsley and Monsieur Delacour discussed politics and how their respective ministries could work closer in the future.

Harry was paying attention to the dynamic of the table, everyone was deliberately avoiding the elephant in the room; Hermione was at the head of the table instead of Ginny; Ron looked like a man awaiting execution, and Molly looked ready to erupt at the slightest provocation. Hermione could sense the apprehension in Harry; she had known him long enough to be able to read his moods. She whispered to Harry 'Are you ok?' Harry nodded almost imperceptibly, and under the table he took a hold of her hand; taking strength from her being so close to him.

Dinner was progressing without incident, after each course Harry began to worry that Molly would cause a scene, but the palate cleanser seemed to act like breakwater. The head waiter entered the dining room unnoticed by everyone except Harry; once again Harry gave a brief nod to signify the main course to be brought in. The waiters brought in Roast fillet of Highland Lamb with pan-fried tomatoes, aubergine and courgette and sauce vierge. The head waiter brought the matched wine; a 1997 vintage Chianti Classico.

The dining room was silent save for the sounds of knives and forks being used, this everyone was savouring the meal they had been served. All too soon it would be over and the business of the night would commence but at this moment Harry was enjoying the peace, Emma spoke in hushed tones and said 'Harry, this is simply divine. I don't normally eat lamb but I think you've made a convert of me.' Dan murmured in agreement, this caused a ripple of agreement across the table. Harry beamed at Emma, who cheekily winked at him. Harry's ensuing blush raised a smile from the Grangers. After all that had happened to Harry, and in the last couple of days, their daughter this moment of levity was very much a welcomed distraction.

The last of the courses was finished away, Harry indicated for coffee to be brought through. Now was the moment that he was dreading, after the waiting staff had left the room he stood and said 'the protocol for these dinners was set down generations ago, it states that once the meal had been enjoyed and the coffee was brought forth the business of the evening was to take place.' He looked at the assembled crowd before continuing 'In the days that followed the end of the second war, I took measures to protect my close friends and their families should there be any repercussions to my defeat of Tom Riddle. I made Hermione, A vassal of house Potter and her parents Emma and Daniel vassals of House Black, the paperwork was signed and witnessed by the minister of Magic, Kinglsey Shacklebolt and Headmistress McGonagall.' He looked at the three Grangers, who were unaware of this and said 'being my friend painted a very large target on Hermione's back. I needed to protect her from the worst of our society; being officially aligned with my house gives her protection that blood supremacists wouldn't go against without just cause. Aligning you both with house Black offers you the same protection.' Harry explained.

He turned to the table and said 'most of you know that over the last few weeks I have been recuperating. On the 2nd of May I tried to take my life, while under the care of Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts.' This admission caused a collective gasp. 'I have been suffering from what Muggle Doctors call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I had been fighting a war since I was 15 months old; I lost my parent and was placed in a violently abusive and neglectful house. I killed a man at age 11, fought and almost died fighting a Basilisk at age 12, fended off 100 dementors at age 13 and if that wasn't traumatic enough I was forced to take part in deadly tournament to compete against older and a more qualified witch and wizards. Once of whom was murdered in front of my before I had to duel the darkest wizard in a thousand years. I was labelled a liar and a cheat by almost everyone in the Wizarding world, before having to fight for my life once again against the same wizard.'

The room was silent; all eyes were on him now. 'During the battle of Hogwarts I walked to my death, to save more people from dying in my name. Yet again I survived the killing curse and in doing so I severed the connection between Tom and me and thanks to Neville I was able to kill him and end his reign of terror. From that day to this I have never spoken as candidly about these things as I have just now. I had buried everything deep inside, hoping that they would never resurface. Yet every night I can hear my mother's screams as she sacrificed her life for me, every night I see his red eyes as the green flash of the killing curse hits me. Even now I see the faces of the people that died fighting to give me enough time to end his hold over Britain.'

He raised his hand to wipe away the silent tears that were falling down his face, he took a breath and Director Potter came to the fore and said 'In the last few days, it has come to light that crimes have been committed against Houses Black and Potter.' He let this last sentence hang in the air. 'Ginevra Weasley, please stand.' Ginny nervously stood, never once making eye contact with anyone else. 'Ronald Billius Weasley, please stand.' Ron stood; visibly shaking at the thought of what would come next. 'Molly Weasley, please stand' Molly slowly stood, her eyes defiantly never leaving his. 'Minister Shacklebolt, would you mind reading the charges?'

Kinglsey stood and drew himself to his full height 'Ginevra Weasley you have, by your own admission, committed the crime of wilfully administering a love potion on one occasion to one Harry James Potter.' A deathly hush descended on the room, the only sound was the stifled whimpers of Ginny as she stood, alone in a crowded room. Gone was the vivacious young woman that was carefree and fun loving, in her place stood a girl that was a shadow of her former self, scared and remorseful. Harry said 'Ginevra, what do you have to say to this?' All eyes fixed on Ginny 'I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen.' Molly roared 'HARRY POTTER! How dare you accuse my daughter? We took you into our home and this is how you repay our kindness.' Harry's eyes burned like crucibles as he stared at Molly, the temperature of the room dropped 'I didn't accuse your daughter, she confessed. I didn't accuse Ron, he confessed. I accuse you, Molly and I hold you accountable for what they have done.'

Molly softened her tone 'Harry, dear, it's just been a misunderstanding. Why don't you and Ginny talk things over awhile Ron and Hermione do the same and everything can go back to how it was.?' Charlie stood and said 'What the hell is going on here Harry? I thought that you were an honourable man and here you accusing my family of betraying you, if anyone has the right to feel betrayed we are.' Bill spoke up 'Charlie, it's true, all of it. She told me as much herself two days ago.' Charlie looked from his older brother to his mum and then to this younger siblings. Its felt as though a veil had been lifted from his eyes, 'I can't...I' he pushed his chair back and made for the exit, Fleur and Minerva both stood, Minerva said to the younger witch 'I'll go to him, I feel that you'll be needed more in here' and she followed Charlie from the room.

##

Minerva closed the door to the dining room and saw Charlie sitting on the steps, she sat beside him 'This is why I offered you the position Charles, your family is going to need all of you close to home if they are to recover from this.' Charlie said 'I don't get it Minnie, how could she be so manipulative?' Minerva smiled 'Not even Albus five names got to call me that.' this made Charlie smile. 'Molly has always done what she thought was good for the family, right or wrong. When her brothers died in the first war, something in her snapped. I'm not excusing her behaviour but I can understand why she is the way she is.' Charlie looked at Minerva 'is what Harry said true? All of those things?' Minerva nodded before saying 'I wish it was not the case but every word he said in there was the truth. I'm surprised he has managed to get this age without some form of breakdown.'

Charlie sat in silence, contemplating how things had gotten so bad. He wanted to believe his mum, and it was just a simple misunderstanding, but he knew deep in his soul that Bill was right. Every word of it was true. He looked at Minerva and said 'Minnie, I think it's time I got back in there. Oh and for the record I will take the job.' This caused McGonagall to grin 'I am pleased to hear that Charlie. And just so you know, Harry will be our new defence professor. I suggest that you clear the air with him before the night is over.'

##

As Minerva left the room Molly spoke again and said 'see what happens when you don't listen to your mother Harry?' this was a red rag to a bull for Harry 'your actions were not those of someone who had our best interests at heart. All my life I have been manipulated by someone who thought that my, our interests were secondary to theirs. I trusted you and you deceived us.' The emotion in his voice was threatening to break. 'I loved you like my own mother!' shouted Harry.

Ron spoke up 'Harry you can't just lay the blame at her, if anyone deserves the blame it's me. I should have known better.' Harry rounded on Ron 'I died for you Ron, for all of you' his voice broke, as he spoke. The tears fell from his eyes; 'you were my brother and I loved you!' he shouted. He sat back down, and said in almost inaudibly 'you were my brother, Ron.' Hermione stood and said 'For 521 weeks you dosed me with love potion, Ron, that's 10 years. How could you do something like to a friend?'

Before anything else could be said Hermione ran from the room. This time Fleur want after her. Kingsley addressed the trio by saying 'This is as unique case as I have ever seen, and as Minister it is my job to deliver some form of justice. The punishment for wilfully administering love potion without consent is death. However I am loathed to deliver that verdict on you. So I will leave it up to you to decide your own fate.'

##

'ermione, wait!' pleaded Fleur. Hermione stopped in her tracks. 'Please don't run. I know that this is ard on you. I also know that arry loves you. Do not look at me like that, I have known since zi tournament that arry was in love with you.' Hermione couldn't look at Fleur 'I ad eard of arry potter even I France. I tried to use my Veela allure on im several times, all ze other boys were affected but not him. It wasn't until ze ball that I realised that is heart was yours. The whole night he couldn't keep his eyes off you.' The French witch put her arms round Hermione and held her tightly, 'Ron robbed you of 10 years with the love of your life, and I know that Ron is deeply sorry for his behaviour, he told me he would take whatever punishment was given without complaint.'

##

As Kinglsey finished speaking Molly erupted, 'Punishment? Why on earth would I be punished? Harry belongs with Ginny everyone knows that just as Hermione belongs with Ron. This is nothing more than a misunderstanding Kingsley.' She looked around the table before continuing 'so they were lied too, maybe that was a mistake but all this talk of punishment and crimes is completely uncalled for.' 'Mum, stop you're making things worse.' Ginny implored her mother who was having none of it 'Worse, how could I make things worse, I'm making thing right. Harry can you not see how upset you're making your wife?' Ginny slammed her hands down on the table 'MUM! I said stop. Our marriage was annulled yesterday; I had 10 years with Harry that was built on a lie because of you. Now Ron and I are facing Merlin know what because of you.'

Arthur got up and went to comfort his daughter, he said to his wife 'I think that you had better apologise for your stupidity before you say something that can't be forgiven.' Molly scoffed at this idea 'apologise for securing our daughters future? Apologise for pushing our witless son to do the thing he couldn't do for himself? I would rather go through the veil than apologise for looking out for my children.' The venom dripped off every syllable she spat, she turned to Harry and fixed him with a stare that would have caused lesser men to quiver with fear. 'I don't regret anything that I have done, and will certainly not apologise to the likes of you' Harry sat calmly and considered his former mother in law, he asked almost lazily 'so you would rather choose the veil than apologise?' 'Yes' came her reply, Harry looked round the table at the Weasley men to gauge their reactions to the family matriarch's words. He looked to Kingsley, whose expression was fathomless, before facing down the closet thing he had to a mother and saying 'so be it.'


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: All credit goes to JK Rowling for the Harry Potter series.

I decided to use the Troubles in Northern Ireland as a way for Dan to relate his experiences to Harry's. As a young soldier in 1975, Dan would have likely been sent to the Province, as many young soldiers were. The bomb blast that killed Peter Willis on 17th July 1975 is a real world event, if my using this as a plot device has caused and offence, then please accept my apologies. It was used to try and convey the very real horrors of conflict and how their impact can be wide reaching.

##

The dining room fell silent. The realisation of what those three words meant was lost on no one. Molly Weasley, who had taken down Bellatrix Lestrange, was attempting to stare down Harry Potter. After a few moments Kingsley said 'Director Potter how would you like to proceed?' His eyes never left Molly's 'Auror Jones and Macpherson are outside, they can escort Mrs Weasley to a holding cell at the ministry. A full and fair trial will be held before the end of the week, if she is found guilty by the court then she will have her wish.'

The table erupted in a cacophony of noise as everyone tried to speak over everyone else. At his side Emma and Dan sat in shocked silence. Hermione, Fleur, Charlie and Minerva reappeared at the onset. Kreacher, who was had been sitting at the table almost unnoticed by everyone clicked his fingers and the sound of a large gong being struck echoed in the room causing everyone to stop. Charlie asked 'what's all the commotion?' George replied 'Mum's under arrest.' Ron piped up 'That bastard just sentenced her to death, that's what's up' he pointed at Harry.

'What!' exclaimed Hermione, her eyes as wide as saucers, 'Harry tell me that's not true' Harry once again spoke calmly 'actually I asked her to apologise, she said that she would rather go through the veil than apologise to the likes of me. I said "So be it" As Director of the DMLE I ordered that she be detained and that she would have a full and fair trial before the end of the week.' Ron barked 'You resigned!' Kingsley said 'Actually Harry is still the Director until the end of the month; it is stipulated in the contract.' Molly's eyes hadn't left Harry 'Mrs Weasley I will be presiding over your trial and that of your children.' At this point the Aurors appeared 'Please take Mrs Weasley to a holding cell at the ministry. She is to be charged with attempted line theft, assault, and 522 counts of administering love potion without consent.' The Aurors made their way to the accused, the asked her to surrender her wand and then placed magic restraining handcuffs on her before leading her away.

Harry looked at Arthur, the pain of his actions etched across his face. As he began to speak his voice broke with the emotion he was feeling 'Mr Weasley, I...' Arthur held up his hand, stopping him 'Harry you have done nothing you need to apologise for, you and Hermione are the ones that have been wronged by my family.' He looked round at this family and said 'most of my family wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for you; I know that both Ginny and I owe our lives to you. These are debts that can never be repaid. While you might no longer be married to Ron and Ginny, as head of house Weasley I still consider you family.'

This outpouring of understanding sincerity from Arthur broke his resolve, he half stood; half stumbled to the man he looked to as a father figure and hugged him as tightly as he could before leaving the dining room. Hermione called the head waiter to bring some brandy and more coffee before turning to her father 'Dad...?' Dan had followed Harry out of the dining room.

Dan caught him up to him near the back stairs 'Harry hold on a moment' he stopped; _His shoulders_ began to shake with _sobs_ that he couldn't hold back any longer. 'Hey, hey, hey' Dan pulled the younger man to his chest and let him cry. This was what it meant to be the boy who lived; never being strong enough to bear the burden of the Wizarding world but being able to put it down. This was the cost of being the Chosen one.

'When Hermione restored our memories after the war, I felt betrayed that she had done that to use without so much as a by your leave. I struggled for a long time with it, it wasn't until a couple of years ago that she told me about all the things that had happened to her when you where on the hunt. It made me sick to think that these things happened to my child and I was powerless to stop them. She told me all about this shy and slightly awkward boy that she fell in love with, and how at the age of just 11 he jumped on a Troll to save her life, I knew then that she had found the one thing in her life that I could never give her. A true friend, when she told me of how you chose to walk into that forest alone and sacrifice yourself for her, I knew that you were something special. I would echo what Arthur said in there Harry, you have done nothing to be ashamed of.' Harry pulled away from Dan and said 'I tried to kill myself Dan, and I'm scared that I might try again and the next time I might succeed.' Dan gestured to the stairs and both men sat down. 'I'm going to tell you something that I have never told anyone before, not even Emma.'

Dan cleared his throat 'in 1974 when I was just 20 I joined the army, the household cavalry. I had just done my basic training and was sent to Ireland on a six month deployment. Two months, my unit were out on a routine patrol, we were just outside a place called Forkill in County Armagh. The PIRA detonated a bomb and four of my mates will killed in the explosion. Pete Willis and I went through basic together, we did everything together. He dies in my arms, it was 17th July 1975. For months I could see his blood on my hands and clothes. Every loud noise made me jump; I could see everything happen in slow motion every time I closed my eyes. I couldn't sleep or eat; eventually I collapsed and was taken to the medical centre. I was treated for exhaustion and dehydration and sent back out on patrol. Now don't get me wrong son, I loved my time in the army or at least most of it, but they didn't know how to fix someone's mind. I left when my contract was up and went to uni and studied to be a dentist. Even now, 33 year after Pete died, I still wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats, or I break down in the shower and cry.' Dan stared in to the middle distance and said 'you saved my little girl, Harry, and I can't thank you enough. You will always have my respect and if you ever need it, you have my shoulder to cry on as well.'

#

Emma Granger was never an outspoken woman; she had bit her tongue many a time over the years. Now she had had enough of holding back. 'I would like to say something.' She said to the room in general, the table became silent. 'Take a long hard look at your selves, sitting there with all your magic and little wooden sticks. You should all of you be ashamed of yourselves, not one of you noticed that there was a single thing wrong, not once! You sit in your Schools and your ministry offices and pay no heed to the rest of the world because of your own pigheaded short sightedness. A woman has just said that she would rather die than apologise for pushing her children to drug someone that they are supposed to love. Oh I dare say that she is a very clever woman to have duped everyone in to thinking that everything was normal. None of you can hold your head up and be seen as blameless, you are all equally guilty. Ron and Ginny were as much the victims here as Harry and Hermione; they were used by their mother. Willingly used, but used none the less. Is it any wonder that neither of them spoke up? Who would they have told, because from where I'm sitting not one of you would have been willing help them.'

Emma stood up 'I don't hold with the death penalty, but as god is my witness Ron, I would strike you down where you stand for what you did to my daughter. And as for you Ginny, I feel sorry for you. You genuinely look remorseful.' She considered the people at the table 'this, this is on you as well.' She turned and walked away from the dining room.

##

No one spoke; they let Emma's words sink in. Nothing that she said could be refuted; they had all let Harry and Hermione down. Even Charlie felt guilty for doubting what Harry was saying, now he couldn't even look at his brother and sister. After a painfully quiet 5 minutes Arthur spoke up 'Kingsley, what will happen to Ron and Ginny?' the Minister simply replied 'they are not under arrest, yet. I would advise that you take them home and wait for my owl in the morning; I will have a time for the trial to take place tomorrow. All three will be subject to questions under veritaserum to determine their guilt and then their sentences will begin.' Arthur gave his word that they wouldn't leave the burrow; they were poised for a long and uncomfortable night.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: JK Rowling owns Harry and all his friends. I'm just playing with them.

##

He had made many difficult decisions in his life, not all of them were good. Sitting at his desk, a glass of whisky in his hand, he contemplated the gravity of his choices. On hand he had the lives of three members of a prominent pureblood family, on the other stood two of the people that rid their world of the darkest wizard in countless generations. No matter what way he turned there could be no happy outcome for everyone.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, sat ruminating on this problem when his there came a knock on his door 'Enter' he called, His assistant Charlotte entered 'Sir, you have a visitor.' she said, 'he told her to show them in before closing his eyes and savouring the peaty amber liquid of his ten year old single malt. 'Minister, thank you for seeing me on such short notice' said Arthur Weasley. Kingsley said 'Arthur, any time my old friend. Tell me what can I do for you today?'

'Well it's about the case. I know that the trial is tomorrow, but as head of House Weasley it would be remiss of me not to speak to you.' Kingsley sat up and said 'Arthur, I'm not fudge, I can make my own decisions without someone else's gold.' The abruptness of his words stung the elder Weasley, 'no, that's not what I was meaning Kingsley.' The minister placed his elbows, leaned forward and interlaced his fingers under his chin 'why don't you educate me then?' the heavy Caribbean drawl in his voice belied the power of the former Auror.

'Minister, I thought that I would announce that regardless of the outcome, House Weasley will support you in whatever decision you make and we will support the verdict whatever it maybe' Arthur put on his most official sounding tone as he addressed his friends fears. 'I have spoken with the family and we are all of us in agreement that this was a reprehensible crime and should Molly and the children be found guilty the punishment should be harsh.'

Kingsley sat back from the table, feeling a little bit lighter, said 'Arthur I am sorry that I snapped; this has been getting to me ever since the dinner.' Both men sat silently for a moment before Kingsley said 'You know, Molly will get the hardest of punishments for her actions, she might even get the veil. I have to tell you that I don't have any sway over this.' Arthur nodded 'we can only hope that the wizenagamot is in a lenient mood.'

##

Harry sat in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, in his mind the events of the dinner were playing over and over; Dan's words were playing over and over. He was feeling shattered and hollow. He knew that periods of depression followed his panic attacks. He'd had enough of them over the years to know the signs. In less than a week he'd lost his wife, his friend and the woman that he had come to think of as a mother. He'd gained the love of his life, new found respect for Daniel Granger and somehow he still felt alone. Hermione had tried to bring him out of his low mood to no avail.

Emma stood in the door way and looked upon the stricken figure before her. Here was the legendry Harry Potter, hero to the Wizarding world, Heart throb to every fan girl in the land, lost and lonely little boy in need of a mother to hold him and chase the monsters away. 'Penny for them, Harry' she called out to him. 'Hm? Sorry I didn't see you there Emma.' He looked round and found Emma stranding against the door frame. 'I said a Penny for them, you looked deep in contemplation.' He smiled an uneasy smile, 'Just going over a few things, trying to figure out how things got so bed so quickly.' Emma too k the seat next to him, 'you do know that none of this is your fault, don't you?' Harry stared at the table, not daring to answer. 'The way I see it, Harry, is right now you have the sword of Damocles hanging over you.' Harry looked confused at this 'the what?' Emma replied the Sword of Damocles? Seriously have you never read Greek Mythology? Damocles was the tyrant of Syracuse, he was a falterer who eulogized the happiness of Dionysius, so they had a banquet and he had a sword hanging over him suspended by a single hair this was done to show him the perilous nature of happiness. Nowadays it's uses as a metaphor to describe any situation threatening disaster.' Harry looked at her and said 'Great, now I feel so much better, thanks Emma' the older woman chuckled and said 'Listen Harry, no matter what happens, you will always be the man that Hermione gave her heart to when she was 12, we will love you come what may. 'Emma sat at the table beside Harry and embraced him.

'I always knew that I would lose Hermione, one way or another. She doesn't know it, but when she was only a few hours old her heart stopped, I almost lost her' her voice be became less tranquil and more leaden as she spoke. 'Not even Dan knows about it, I have to tell you that it shook me to my core, Harry. I almost lost her and it scared me. They said that she died for a few seconds, and I swear as god is my witness a piece of my soul died that day.' Her voice began to falter as she spoke 'I used to spend hours just watching her sleep, just to know that she was ok. It broke my heart when she got on that damn train, I was reliving that day all over again, but this time I wasn't getting her back. Then she met you and I knew then that as long as you were with her she would always be safe.' She grasped hold of Harry's hand and squeezed as hard as she could 'she was so lonely, Harry, my little girl was breaking her heart in letters home saying that no one liked her and that she was being teased for knowing all the answers. Then one day all of that changed, and it only took almost dying at the hands of a Troll for it to happen. That was the day that you gave her back to me.' Emma was crying unashamedly 'every letter after that day was about you, I realised that you were the one that she was supposed to be with. No matter what, you will always have our blessing.' She wiped her face and took a hold of Harry's and fixed him with the type of stare that only mothers can do 'you hurt her and I promise you this Mr Potter, Voldemort will be a cake walk in comparison to me.' Harry simply nodded; he was far too scared to do anything else.

##

'Witches and Wizards of the Wizenagamot, today we stand in session to ascertain the culpability of the accused. The three cases on the docket will be tried separately, however they are intrinsically linked. We will start with Case number 321526, Please bring in the accused.' The door to the chamber was opened and the first of the accused was brought in and sat in the chair at the centre of the chamber, there was an audible gasp from all sides when it became apparent who was on trial today. 'Miss Ginevra Weasley, you have been brought before this court today charged with one count of the unlawful administering of a Love potion to one Harry James Potter on the morning of 4th May 1998; one count of conspiracy to defraud by way of the unlawfully administering of a love potion to one Harry James Potter on the morning of 4th May 1998. How do you plead to these charges?' Ginny listened to the echo's die away before saying 'Guilty' there was abuzz around the chamber. The Chief Warlock silenced the assembly 'very well Miss Weasley, in light of your plea, you will be detained until sentencing. Guards please take her away' Ginny was lead away in tears to the holding cells.

'Case number 321527, Please bring in the accused.' The chamber door opened and the second accused was brought to the chair. 'Ronald Bilius Weaseley, you have been brought to this court charged with 522 counts of the unlawful administering of a love potion to one Hermione Jean Granger between the morning of 4th May 1998 and 2nd May 2008, how do you plead?' Ron looked down at the floor and said 'Guilty'. Ronald Bilius Weaseley, you have been brought to this court charged with 522 counts of sexual intercourse without consent by means of the unlawful administration of a love potion to one Hermione Jean Granger between the morning of 4th May 1998 and 2nd May 2008, how do you plead?' in the chamber, you could hear a pin drop. Ron looked up at the Chief Warlock and said 'Guilty'.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling. Not infringement or offence is meant by this piece of writing.

##

As Ron was led away to the holding cells, the chamber erupted. The Chief warlock stood and cast the Sonorous charm and called out 'ORDER!' every witch and wizard fell silent. 'Members of the Wizengamot, before we bring in the next accused I will have Aurors stationed around the chamber to ensure the safety of the prisoner, such is the severity of her crimes. I will not tolerate any out bursts from any one. As chief warlock it is my responsibility to inform you that any action taken in this chamber by those who see fit to take the law into their own hands will be treated as an act of treason, and as such carries the sentence of death.' Before the chief sat down he said 'The Chair recognises the Minister for Magic' Kingsley stood to address the chamber, 'Witches and Wizards of the Wizengamot, I was approached yesterday afternoon in my office by the head of house of the accused, Arthur Weasley. Every member here knows Arthur and holds him in the highest regard as a fair minded and honourable man. It was no less than 4 weeks ago that in this very chamber we passed a law that this man has been working on his entire life, the Muggle Protection act.'

He looked around the chamber and saw heads nodding as he spoke. 'When he said to me that he wanted to discuss these cases I have to admit I had some concerns. These concerns proved to be baseless; Arthur advised me that House Weasley had spoken at length and due to the nature of the crimes and who they were committed against; House Weasley has no other option but to stand behind the judgment of the Wizengamot and will fully support the sentences that are handed out, whatever the severity.' Kingsley's voice echoed in the chamber as he took to his seat. The chief warlock allowed this information to sink in before talking to his feet.

The silence was deafening, Arthur was in his seat within the chamber. He could not vote as his family were involved but he was obliged to be there. All eyes were on him, there were not many in the chamber that would have openly made such an endorsement. Arthur knew the difference between doing what is right and doing what is easy. The Chief stood and called out 'Case numbers 321528, Please bring in the accused.' The chamber door opened and Aurors filled in and faced the members. The accused was brought to the chair at the centre of the chamber, golden chains wrapped around her arms and legs preventing her from escaping.

#

Harry stood on in an ante chamber, waiting to be called. Hermione had chosen to give her testimony in private. He was still Director of the DMLE for the foreseeable future and had been in this position on many occasions but this was the first time that he had given evidence since he addressed the chamber asking for clemency for Narcissa Malfoy during their trial at the end of the last war. His testimony would either sentence the woman who treated him as a son to death or life in Azkaban. Needless to say he was beginning to panic.

#

'Molly Weasley; you have been brought to this court charged that you did wilfully and in full recognition of the illegality of your actions, conspire to defraud and commit line theft by way of the use of Love potion on one Harry James Potter. How do you plead?' Defiantly, Molly spat 'Not Guilty' the assembled Aurors braced themselves for any retaliation from the chamber, none came.

'Molly Weasley; you have been brought to this court charged that you did wilfully and in full recognition of the illegality of your actions, collude with one Ronald Bilius Weasley on 522 counts of sexual intercourse without consent by means of the unlawful administration of a love potion to one Hermione Jean Granger between the morning of 4th May 1998 and 2nd May 2008, how do you plead?' The chamber collectively held its breath; Molly set her jaw resolutely before saying clearly 'Not Guilty'

'In light of your plea, you will be given veritaserum to ascertain the veracity of the charges against you. Once your testimony is heard, sentencing normally will commence. However we have received a petition from one Harry James Potter to address the chamber. Due to the nature of this case the wizengamot has granted him leave to do so.' Molly glared at the assembled body, clenching her teeth as she awaited the serum to be administered.

Augustus Pye, the healer in charge of St. Mungo's, entered the chamber, flanked by two senior Aurors. 'Mrs Weasley, I will administer the serum and ask a few control questions before Chief Jones begins the interrogation. Do you have any questions?' Molly shook her head. Healer Pye took a vial from the tray; its contents were clear like water. 'Three drops will be sufficient, please open your mouth, Mrs Weasley' she defiantly stuck out her tongue and looked rather like an overgrown disobedient child who had just had a row.

Molly's eyes became glazed as the serum took hold; Healer Pye looked to the assembly to receive the nod to continue. He turned to Molly 'Can you tell me your full name?' he asked 'Molly Weasley' she replied 'What is the name of your eldest child's wife?' the assembly gasped at her reply 'That French half breed jezebel is called Fleur.' The healer cleared his throat 'indeed, now can you tell us the name of your home?' Molly said in a monotone voice that indicated that the serum had taken full effect 'My home is the Burrow, it really should be Potter Manor what with Harry being married to Ginny'

Healer Pye tuned to the assembly and said 'The serum has now taken full effect.' before taking a seat. Chief Jones stood and addressed the court 'I will now ask a series of questions based on the testimony that has been given prior to this hearing. Once these questions have been answered I will allow one or two questions to be asked before the antidote is administered, do any of you have any objections to this?' the Wizengamot remained silent.

Chief Jones asked 'Mrs Weasley, did you instruct your daughter, Ginevra Weasley to give Harry Potter a Love Potion on the 4th of May 1998.' Molly answered 'yes, Ginny was worried the mud blood would steal him away from her' Chief Jones asked ' did you instruct your son, Ronald Bilius Weasley to give Hermione Jane Granger a Love Potion on the 4th of May 1998?' Molly answered 'yes, he saw Ginny put the potion in to Harry's pumpkin Juice, he told me what he saw. I told him that if he wanted the Granger girl then he should do the same thing. I knew that Harry and Hermione were getting closer, I had to do something to make sure that Ginny became a Potter.' Chief Jones asked 'Why did Ginevra only give Harry the potion once while Ronald gave Hermione the potion at least once a week?' Molly replied 'Ginny didn't feel comfortable lying to Harry, that she never wanted to give him it in the first place. She said that she only did it because she was still grieving for Fred and she wanted to make me happy. Ron knew that Hermione would pick Harry so he was only too eager to go along with it in the beginning; this was his chance to get one over on Harry. I had to blackmail him into carrying on with it of the last few years. He said that a man shouldn't have to lie to his wife.' Chief Jones asked 'Mrs Weasley, have you done anything wrong?' Molly said 'everything I have done was for the benefit of my children, they deserve the best.' Chief Jones said I will take one or two questions. Golgomath Bryce stood and asked 'Mrs Weasley, did you brew the potion for Ronald all of these years?' Molly responded by saying, 'I brewed the potion for Ron on two occasions'

Once Golgomath sat down Arthur stood up and asked 'Molly have you ever given me Love Potion during our marriage?' Molly replied 'I have given you the potion a couple of times, once when we were at school, this helped me persuade you to elope with me and the other time was just after Fabian and Gideon where murdered'


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: None of this would be possible without JK Rowling and her wonderful imagination.

I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank everyone that has stuck with this story; delia cerrano, Nikkistew2, Starboy545 I read all your reviews and I hope that your faith in this story is being repaid. Hope you enjoy

##

The last time Harry felt this anxious was when he was waiting to face the dragon at the beginning of the Tri-wizard tournament, at least then he could hear what was going on. Here in this anteroom there was nothing but the sound of his footsteps as he paced the floor. The anxiety was slowly beginning to bubble over, his breathing was becoming laboured, and he was constantly on edge. He hated feeling like this and being stuck in this room was not helping matters, he hoped that he wouldn't go into full meltdown when he was in the chamber. That was the last thing that he needed.

##

Arthur retook his seat, whatever colour he had left had drained away to leave him looking pale. Chief Jones called for Healer Pye to administer the antidote; Molly Weasley had shared more than enough. 'Witches and Wizards of the Wizengamot, you have heard the charges and the testimony of the accused under veritaserum. Due to the nature of these charges and against whom these crimes have been perpetrated against, I have taken the decision to allow one of the victims to address the chamber.' Jones surveyed the assembly before continuing 'Please bring Director Potter to the chamber.' One of the senior Aurors left the room and returned a moment later with Harry.

'The Chair recognises Director Potter' Chief Jones took his seat. Harry cleared his throat before addressing the chamber 'Chief Jones, Minister Shacklebolt, esteemed members of the Wizengamot thank you for allowing me the honour of speaking with you today. Ten short years ago I stood in this very chamber and asked this esteemed body to show clemency to Narcissa Malfoy. On the 2nd May 1998 by her actions I was able to once and for all put an end to the reign of terror of Tom Riddle. Today I stand before you once again, this time there is no dark lord to be vanquished or some obscure discriminatory law that needs to be repealed. Today I stand before you, not as Director of the DMLE, not as the Boy who lived or the Chosen one. I present myself to you as a man that is weary of the burden that I have had to carry for almost my entire life. On the 2nd of May this year I tried to take my own life.'

The shocked gasps from the chamber caused Harry stop for a moment and look around at the people he was addressing before continuing, 'if not for the actions of a Hogwarts pupil, I would not be standing here today. I will not go into details of the reasons for this save to say that my actions were the catalyst for us being here today. A few weeks after this incident I found out that my then wife and Brother-in-law had been administering Love potions to Hermione Granger. Two nights ago I held a Potter Dinner, at this dinner I confronted Mrs Weasley.'

'When I was eleven years old; this woman took me into her home, she fed me, clothed me, and treated me like a son. Her entire family accepted me and treated me no different to the way they treated each other.' Harry turned to look at Molly and said 'I will always be grateful to her taking in an abused orphan and showing him what a mother's unconditional love felt like.' Tears began to fall from Molly's eyes as Harry spoke; he turned back to the assembly 'This woman now sits bound to this chair awaiting judgment for her crimes against me and Hermione. Before passing judgment I would ask you to consider some things before hand. Consider that this woman has suffered at the hands of Tom Riddle almost as much as I have. In the first war her beloved brothers were murdered by his hand, her only daughter was possessed and almost killed by an artefact that housed a piece of Toms soul, and in 1995 her husband Arthur was brutally attacked by Tom Riddles familiar while defending the prophesy that told of me being the chosen one.' Harry looked around saw the uncomfortable look on the faces of the assembled witches and wizards; they had all suffered by the actions of Tom Riddle.

Harry continued 'during the opening stages of the battle of Hogwarts; Fred Weasley, a very great friend to me and son to Molly and Arthur was taken from us. These things alone would be enough suffering for any one person to have to cope with, I would also ask that you taking in to account that this woman fought Bellatrix Lestrange, Tom Riddle's most feared and vicious lieutenant, and defeated her while defending her daughter.' Harry took a breath to calm his anxiety 'while she has my thanks and my heartfelt sympathy for all the losses that she has been forced to endure, I will not stand to have these crimes go unpunished. During the Potter Dinner two nights ago I asked her to apologise for her actions, Molly tell us what you said' 'I said I would rather go through the veil than apologise to the likes of you, you ungrateful whelp! I took you into my home and this is how you repay my kindnesses!'

Harry hung his head and rubbed his weary eyes, Chief Jones addressed the assembly 'Witches and Wizards of the wizenagamot the time has come for us to discuss the punishments for the three accused. Aurors please take the accused to the holding cell.' As they took Molly away she struggled and screamed obscenities that had never before been heard in Wizarding world.

##

Harry took his leave and left the chamber, he had he struggled to hold his rising panic at bay as addressed the chamber. As the door to the anteroom closed behind him he dropped to his knees, with shaking hands he pulled at the neck of his robes. A strangled cry escaped his lips as his anxiety peaked. Arthur entered the anteroom to thank Harry for his kind words and found him on the floor. 'Harry!' the older man moved with a speed that belied his years and knelt down beside the stricken man. 'I've got you son, I've got you.' whispered Arthur, Harry struggled to stop his hands from shaking. The two men stayed like this while Arthur continued to talk him back from the edge.

Eventually Harry regained enough composure to sit up; he couldn't look Arthur in the eye as he spoke 'I'm so sorry for all of this Arthur, I never wanted any of this.' Arthur put his hand on Harry's shoulder and said 'stop son, don't you do this. Don't you take the blame for someone else's mistakes, this is Molly's doing Harry. You don't get to take the blame for her, and you don't get to take the blame for Ron and Ginny either.' 'I feel so ashamed, Arthur, I feel like I've let you all down after all that you have done for me over the years; now your family is in bits because of me.' said Harry in little more than a whisper. Arthur put his hand under the younger mans chin and lifted his head up. 'Without you Harry, I wouldn't have a family. Ginny would have died, I would be dead and if it wasn't for your quick thinking Ron would have been poisoned. My family owes you more than it can ever repay Harry, and I am proud to call you my friend and have had you as part of my family.'

##

Hermione sat in her parents living room, she received Arthurs Patronus message a few hours ago telling her about Harry, telling her that he was fine and that when deliberations were completed and sentencing was passed they would owl her. She looked at the clock; the hands seemed to stand still. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours and hours dragged for what felt like a lifetime. 'Hermione, will you stop pacing? Honestly you're worse that your father was I was in labour with you.' said Emma. Hermione smiled at her mother, 'I'm just worried is all.' She replied 'Honey why you don't...' her father started but was interrupted but the sound of an owl pecking at the window.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: All of this belongs to JK Rowling.

The events of this chapter happen at the same time as the last one, hence the reason why they both have the same ending.

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As Harry set out to the Wizengamot to attend the trials, Hermione elected to spend the day with her parents. 'Love If you need me, send me a Patronus and I'll be there as quickly as I can, okay?' Harry nodded his agreement. She draped her arms over his shoulders and pulled him into as tender a kiss as she could muster. 'I know that you feel responsible, but you have to let the process run its course.' He held her, lost in the moment, unwilling to leave the comfort of her arms. He had spent most of his life loving her from afar, never realising that she feel the same; now she was with him as an equal, his soul mate, the love of his life. She was the anchor that held him fast to his course. He reluctantly let her go and said 'Tell your parents hi for me will you?' she beamed at him and said 'they'll expect you over as soon as it is over with, you realise? Then we can all go to dinner.' Harry grinned 'I'd like that very much.'

##

Hermione Apparated to her parents back garden, Emma saw her arrive from the kitchen window 'Dan, Hermione's here' she called to her husband. Dan came through as Hermione walked into the kitchen 'you know sweetheart, I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing you arrive like that.' her mother beamed at her. 'Hi mum, Harry says hello to both of you. I asked him to come here after, I hope you don't mind.' Emma and Dan both raised an eyebrow at her 'ok, ok I get the message.' Hermione hugged both of them.

Dan ushered the women to the living room before brewing some coffee and joining them. 'So this wizzywig thing is a big deal I take it?' asked Dan as he walked in 'Daaad! Its wizengamot as well you know, and yes it is a big deal. You heard Molly the other night, given the choice, she would take the veil rather than admit that she did something wrong.' Emma asked 'If Harry has resigned, then why is still involved in this case? Surely this would be a conflict of interests?' Hermione took her cup 'Thanks Dad, Harry is still the director of the DMLE until the end of the month, it's written into the contract. Magical law and non-magical law differ in loads of ways, while in non-magical law Harry would obliged to sequester himself from the investigation and any subsequent trial. Magical law requires no such thing; it's something that we have been trying to get changed almost since the day we started.'

Dan sat down and said 'so what's the likely outcome?' Hermione took a drink of her coffee and considered her answer 'It's hard to say. Ginny will likely receive a fine because she used the potion on Harry before the law was changed. Ginny is completely heartbroken about this whole affair, the thing is she genuinely loved Harry; it was hard for her not too. She was raised on stories of him performing acts of daring do and saving the day. Molly filled her head with the idea that she and Harry were destined to be together.'

Emma asked 'and what about Ronald? Surely his punishment will be severe?' Dan put down his cup and said 'I'd like his punishment to be locked in a room with me for 10 minutes...' 'Dan, you're not helping.' admonished his wife. 'Mum its fine, nothing dad can say will make it any worse. It's hard to know that you've been a fool, and to think that all this time I could have been with Harry and been happy.' She sat in silence for a few moments before saying 'I know what you're thinking dad because I've been thinking it too. Ron has been charged with 522 counts of sexual intercourse without consent, that's not the same as rape dad. As uncomfortable as it is for you to hear it, every time I slept with him it was my decision.' 'How can you be so sure, sweetheart? 522 is once a week for ten years, that's a lot.' She looked at her father and could see the anguish in his eyes, he desperately wanted to believe what she was saying to him but the father in him was looking for justice for his only child.

'I know because I have written in my journal dad since I was eight years old. Everything that I have ever seen or done is documented. The days that we had sex are all marked with a small x, I have looked over the last few years and I can see the pattern of infatuation in the comments I've written. It would appear that Ron at least had some scruples about that, it doesn't make it any easier knowing that for at least part of the time I was living a lie.' Emma got up and rushed from the room, listening to her daughter talking about what had been done to her over the last ten years was simply too much for her to take.

'I'll go speak with her dad if you make some lunch.' He nodded in agreement and headed tot eh kitchen. Hermione followed her mother up the stairs and found her curled up in her bed, soft sobs escaping from her. Hermione kicked of her shoes and climbed on tot eh bed behind her mum and put her arms around her the way her mother used to comfort her on the days when she would come home from school feeling particularly upset. 'I remember when I was about nine; Graham Parker stole my bag and threw all my books across the playground. I cried for what felt like hours, you came into my room and held me like this. You could always make me feel better; no matter what happened you could always put a smile on my face.'

Emma sniffed 'this isn't Graham Parker throwing your books across the playground, this is more serious.' 'I know it is, mum but I've been through much worse than this. I have a wonderful family and great friends and more importantly I have the love of my life to help me through whet ever comes.' Emma turned to face her daughter; Hermione was glowing with the possibilities to come 'so you and Harry; have you finally gotten together?' Hermione grinned like a Cheshire cat. 'The day we found out about everything; he told me that he had been in love with me since just before his twelfth birthday.' It was Emma's turn to grin like a fool. 'I can see that being with him does you good.' At this Dan called to tell them that lunch was ready, 'We'd better go down before he complains.' Hermione said, her mother agreed.

#

During lunch the family spoke about everything expect the case. The Grangers filled Hermione in on the local goings on, who married who, who passed away, and how the practise was doing. Eventually they moved back in to the living room with more coffee, when a silver weasel Patronus bounded into the room 'Hermione, Harry has had a serious panic attack but don't worry I have managed to talk him down. All the evidence has been presented; we'll owl you with the outcome.'

Hermione sat in her parents living room, she received Arthurs Patronus message a few hours ago telling her about Harry, telling her that he was fine and that when deliberations were completed and sentencing was passed they would owl her. She looked at the clock; the hands seemed to stand still. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours and hours dragged for what felt like a lifetime. 'Hermione, will you stop pacing? Honestly you're worse that your father was I was in labour with you.' said Emma. Hermione smiled at her mother, 'I'm just worried is all.' She replied 'Honey why you don't...' her father started but was interrupted but the sound of an owl pecking at the window


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Everything Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I'm just playing with her toys.

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The Grangers all looked at the window, as the owl pecked at it again. Dan got up and opened the window to allow the bird to come in. It flew to Hermione; evidently the parchment was only for her. 'Aren't you handsome?' she asked as the tawny owl offered its leg to her to remove the scroll, the owl affectionately rubbed its head against her hand before flying through the open window. She sat down on the couch next to her mother; the weight of expectation seemed to make the scroll feel far heavier that is was. Dan sat at the other side of his daughter; all three of them looked at the scroll in Hermione's hand.

She sat the scroll on the coffee table, fully aware of the significance of what it contained and how this might change her life. Part of her wanted to run and hide until Harry came, however the logical side of her mind argued that this was a stupid way to behave. 'We can leave the room if you want, darling' offered her mum. She shook her head 'I don't think I can do it on my own.' Dan reached over and picked up the scroll 'do you want me to open it for you? Asked Dan; 'Thanks dad, but I'll do it.' He handed the scroll to his little girl. She broke the wax seal on the scroll and unfurled the parchment 'Hermione Granger, as a long standing subscriber to the Daily Prophet we are pleased to tell you that you have been entered into a prize draw to receive a free month long subscription to our sister publication "Witch Weekly"...'

Hermione released the breath that she was holding 'that fucking newspaper!' she scrunched the parchment into a ball and threw it across the room. Dan let out a laugh 'that's one way to cut the tension!' 'That's not funny, dad' she said with a smile on her face. The atmosphere of the house returned to normal as they waited on the proper notice coming. About an hour after the Daily Prophets scroll, an Eagle owl landed on the window ledge and hooted to the Grangers. There was no mistaking this scroll, Hermione wasted no time in breaking the seal and quickly read the parchment before dropping it to the floor and putting her hand to her mouth.

Emma and Dan rushed to her side, Hermione looked drawn and pale. 'Honey, is everything alright?' asked Emma, silent tears rolled down her daughters face. Dan reached down and picked up the parchment and read 'Dear Ms. Granger, at the behest of the Minister of Magic. I have been asked to provide you with details of the outcome of the trials of Ginevra Weasley, Ronald Bilius Weasley and Molly Weasley. Case number 321526 – One count of Unlawful administering of a Love potion; Ms. Weasley plead guilty to this charge, however as the use of Love Potions was not outlawed until 2001 it was deemed that no crime had been committed and this charge has been dismissed. One Count of conspiracy to defraud, Ms. Weasley pleaded guilty. This charge was upheld, Ms. Weasley has been sentenced to six months community service, suspended for eighteen months and a fine amounting to twelve thousand galleons.

Case number 321527 – Mr Weasley pleaded guilty to both charges, however due to your earlier testimony in relation to the second charge, this was dismissed. Mr. Weasley offered to have his magic bound to one third of its current level and six years in Azkaban in the medium security wing. Given Mr. Weasley's service to our society during the second war, the Wizengamot felt that binding his magic would not be required and that four years in maximum security will be necessary.

Case number 321528 – Mrs Molly Weasley.

Due to the severity of the crimes committed by Mrs Weasley and her refusal to acknowledge any wrong doing on her part, and the impassioned testimony of Harry James Potter, the Wizengamot deliberated for some time. A final vote was taken it was deemed that the _fate of Socrates_ would be instigated. Mrs Weasley chose that her fate would be to voluntarily walk through the veil. This sentence will be carried out within fourteen days. Hoping that you are well, Amanda Garretty.'

Dan was stunned, he let the parchment fall to the floor 'I need a drink' he said. He went to the kitchen and brought a bottle of single malt and four glasses. 'I assume that Harry will be here shortly and he'll need a drink just as much as I do.' 'Dad, you can't open that!' exclaimed Hermione. 'Your grandfather bought me this bottle of Bowmore Bicentenary 1979 when you were born, he told me to open it only when there was a time of great need. I wanted to open it when you got married but something told me that it wasn't the right time. If this isn't a time of great need, then I have no idea what is.'

Dan made great ceremony of cutting the wax seal on the bottle and pouring a measure into each of the four glasses. 'This has been in the bottle for Thirty nine years; it's about time that it was given the space to find its self.' At that moment Harry came in to the room and said 'I couldn't agree with you more Dan.' every one turned and saw him standing there with Arthur 'Harry, Arthur!' squealed Hermione before she launched herself at the men standing in the door way. Emma said 'I'll get another glass, Arthur you'll stay for a drink.' Mr Weasley just nodded.

'Hermione, love, it's been one hell of a day, I see you got the scroll for the ministry.' Arthur said 'Hermione, you may not be my daughter in law any longer but I will always think of you as part of my family.' She smiled and hugged the older man. 'You'll always be my second dad Arthur, no matter what has happened.' the older man hugged her tightly and kissed her head. Dan held out a glass to both men 'Arthur today can't have been easy on you. If you ever need to talk, just drop in or send an owl. You'll be more than welcome.' Arthur smiled and took the glass and said 'I'll bear that in mind Dan.'

The five of them sat in the living room and talked through the many different emotions that ran through the room. They laughed together and cried together, they ran the gauntlet of emotions that they all felt. From the end of the war and finding out that memories were altered to losing loved ones and being tortured at the hands of maniacs. Every day the effects of the Tom Riddles reign were being played out in one way or another, ultimately he was the reason for the problems they all had to endure.

##

Ginny sat in the Potter Cottage, alone and unloved. 'Greta?' she called out to the house elf 'Yes missus?' 'Greta would you mind taking a letter to Harry and Hermione for me?' she asked of the house elf. 'Of course missus.' aid the elf, 'Thank you, I'll call you when I'm done, would you mind getting me a cup of tea, please?' Ginny picked up a quill and some Parchment and began to write " _My Dearest Harry and Hermione..."_ She began.

Greta came when Ginny called her, 'missus, Mister Harry is a good man and he takes care of his friends. You being at Potter cottage mean he thinks of you as his friend. Are you sure that you want me to bring him this here letter?' Ginny looked at the elf and opened her mouth to respond before the elf said 'he been through enough, he loose him friend and him second mum, he not needing to lose him Ginny.' Ginny looked at the elf, Greta continued 'Mister Harry, he is a kind soul. But something in him is broken, he feel bad about all the things that happen to his wheezes and his granges. Don't be making him feel worse.'


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: The Wizarding world we all know and love is the sole property of J.K Rowling; I'm just paying with her toys.

This chapter was going to be predominantly about the Weasley's, however it kind of grew legs a bit and took me in a different direction. I hope that you enjoy it.

##

Ginny sat and listened to Greta, was she really about to end everything? _"Something in him is broken"_ she remembered what the elf had said. Harry was broken, something in him was damaged because of the war and she had never seen it, how could she have been so blind? The kindest and most noble man she had ever met was hurting and for ten years she didn't even notice.

No for ten years she didn't want to notice, she had her prince and all the trapping that came with his fame. As long as she was happy that was all that mattered to her, if she had stopped and paid him even the most meagre amount of attention then she would have noticed that his days at the office grew longer and longer, she would have seen that he was eating less and less and that their interactions became more fleeting.

She thought back to everything that she thought she knew about "her" Harry, the numerous stories that she had read when she was growing up. Of course she knew that these were only faction, didn't she? In every story Harry fought off countless dark wizards' singlehandedly and came away unscathed. When Harry saved her life, when others far more capable had all but written her off, he almost lost his own life. Did she ever really love him or was she just another fan girl? The longer she sat there and though about it, the more she realised that she was in fact, nothing more than a fan girl. The realisation broke what was left of her heart.

##

In his holding cell, Ron was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He deserved far worse than what he was getting, he betrayed his friends because he was a coward. He couldn't see past his own envy where Harry was concerned, he coveted all the things that Harry had; the money, the fame, the adoring fan girls but never once did it occur to him that none of these things mattered. It wasn't until Bill and Fleur spoke with him before the dinner did it finally sink in, and now in his isolation the full weight of his stupidity and what he had lost dawned on him.

His oldest and closest friends were now lost to him, who was he if he wasn't part of the golden trio? Now he was nothing more than a criminal who deserved everything that was coming his way. He lay in the darkness of his cell; no tears were shed, not plaintive cries of sorrow escaped from his lips, only a long drawn out sigh came from him as he said a silent prayer to Merlin hoping the Harry and Hermione would one day stop hating him.

##

Dawn broke over the Grangers home, the early morning mist hung low on the trees. The sky slowly changed from the midnight blue through to the golden hues of burnt terracotta and red before the sun breached the horizon. Harry lay in bed holding the woman he had loved since he was 12 years old, his best friend and the only person to have never left him. Her head rested on his chest and he could smell her patchouli and vanilla shampoo, it was singularly the most captivating scent he could imagine.

He had slept for six full hours and awoke with the dawn chorus and felt more rested than he had felt for longer than he could remember. He was loathed to wake her, she looked so at peace, but his bladder knew not of such things as the beauty of a sleeping woman; of how her brows furrowed ever so slightly for time to time or how the morning sunlight made the golden shades of her hair dance as though they had come alive. No, his bladder knew only that it was full and damn to all of God's great creations.

He eased himself gently away from her, pulling the covers back over her to keep her warm and headed to the toilet. This was the first time that Harry had stayed over at his girlfriends house, the though sounded very strange to him. A few days ago he was married and now did he have a new girlfriend? Sometimes the world was just too crazy to try and understand.

He flushed the toilet and washed his hands, fully awake he was unsure if he should go back to bed or head to the kitchen and make some tea. If he was in his own house it wouldn't be too much of a problem, he would go back to bed and ask Kreacher to bring him some tea. He descended the stairs and found that Emma was bustling about. 'Morning Emma' he said, she turned and replied 'Oh, morning Harry did you sleep well?' he yawned and nodded. 'I was going to make a batch of Pancakes; it's the least I can do for allowing me to stay.' He said, after stifling another yawn.

Emma smiled at him 'you do know that we see you as family, don't you?' her tone was soft and welcoming yet it triggered something in him that had been lying dormant for many years, his face became a mask of hurt and confusion; as though he had been scolded for doing something wrong. His hand began to tremble ever so slightly. 'Harry, are you alright?' asked Emma with a hint of panic in her voice. She rushed over to him and put her arms around the younger man and pulled his head down on to her shoulder. His shoulders began to shudder as he sobbed uncontrollably. 'Hey, hey you're alright Harry. I've got you.' she whispered softly to him as he clung to her as though his very existence depended upon it.

They stood there for some time before his sobbing lessened, eventually he whispered to her 'I'm so sorry Emma...' she stopped him and said 'you have nothing to apologise for Harry, nothing at all.' She got him some kitchen paper and he wiped his face and continued 'not long after her heart stopped, I had moments when even the most innocuous of things would set me off. I would panic and break down, over time it happened less and less but it never went away. Before I came down here I looked in on her, I have never seen her look as peaceful as she was sleeping in your arms.'

Harry sat down at the kitchen table and said 'I never knew my parents, did Hermione tell you?' Emma nodded he continued 'my aunt and uncle forced me to do chores around the house from the time I was about 4 or 5. If I didn't do something to their standard I was beaten and looked in my room.' He gave a mirthless laugh 'I say room, it was the cupboard under the stairs. That's where I slept until I came home from Hogwarts at the end of first year. I was barely fed; I hadn't been to the doctors. I only got glasses because I couldn't see the dust I was supposed to be cleaning up. They treated me worse than a slave, about five years ago Headmistress McGonagall sent me an owl with a letter enclosed from my cousin, Dudley, and he wanted to meet with me. I agreed to meet him for lunch, my aunt and Uncle both passed away about six years ago. My Uncle died after complications following heart surgery, he was 65. A few months later my Aunt died, he said that after Vernon died she just gave up; she died of a broken heart. When he was going through her things he found a letter addressed her from my mum. Not long before my parents were killed, my mum had reached out to Petunia to try and rebuild some kind of relationship, my aunt resented the magical world for taking her sister away from her twice and she took it out on me.'

Harry took a drink of his tea, Emma sat and listened. She knew he needed to get some things off his chest and she was only too happy to help him. He continued 'Dudley was very apologetic for how he and his parents had treated me; he said that when I saved him from the Dementor attack, I changed his life. We still talk from time to time. How could someone that hated me so much want to apologise for what they did to me, yet someone that showed the greatest care and affection towards me, chose to treat me and Hermione the way she did for 10 years? How can he change so much to see the error of his actions and want to make amends for it, but she would rather choose death than apologise for what she did? I don't get it Emma, I really don't.'

Emma considered everything that Harry had said and took a drink of her tea, 'maybe by you saving his life, when he thought of you as nothing more than something that he would scrap off his shoe, really did change his opinion of you. Perhaps Molly holds it against you that you couldn't save her son; I mean you saved her daughter and her husband as well as Ronald. If she was a Muggle, she would have had been seen by a mental health professional and would get treatment for her grief.'

Harry finally felt he had the courage to look at Emma before saying 'I think I want to visit them'. Hermione and Dan walked into the kitchen at this point and said in unison 'Visit who?'


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: J.K Rowling owns harry and all his friends, not me.

I couldn't miss up the chance to mention Red Dwarf.

##

'Visit who, Harry?' Hermione asked again, this time a little more impatiently. Harry couldn't meet her eyes as he spoke 'The Malfoy's.' Hermione shrieked 'WHAT! Why?' Dan looked at Emma and said, 'I think we should leave them to it, don't you?' Emma stood up and walked round the table behind Harry and put both hands on his shoulders 'it's up to you Harry, you want me to stick around? I can be your muscle; I know all of Hermione's tickly spots.' Emma playfully smirked at her daughter. Dan tried hard not to laugh, before Hermione rounded on him 'Dad, it's not funny.'

Harry assured them that her also knew some of Hermione's vulnerable points should she need to be put in her place. Hermione sat at the table next to him and asked 'What's going on Harry?' he told her about what had happened; about his contact with Dudley, his discussion with Emma and the questions that it raised. Hermione said 'logically one could argue that speaking with the Weasley's would give you the answers. Are you sure that you're ready to see Draco and Narcissa?' Harry leaned forward and ran his hands through his rampantly messy hair, 'I don't know, babe, I really don't know but I can't keep going like this. I fell apart because your mum said that your parents see me as family.' His voice began to break as he spoke, 'that's ... that's all I have ever wanted and ...' he never got a chance to finish as the brown bushy haired Exocet hit him and almost knocked him from his chair.

As the morning progressed it became apparent to Hermione that Harry and her mum were becoming very close, seeing how they interacted was a joy to watch. 'It's amazing to watch, isn't it?' said her father 'the way she can put someone so at ease that they can forget their trouble, even if it is only for a short time. It's not something big or even something that you can put your finger on but it's there, almost like magic.' He looked at Hermione and said 'I don't profess to know or even understand half of the things that man has had to endure over the years, but in all the time I have known him I have never seen him happier or more content than when he's with you. You seem to have a touch of that magic that your mum has.'

She smiled at her father and said 'I love him, dad I always have and he loves me. There's no pretending or arguments or trying to change me. He sees me; he has always seen through the insecurities and the bossiness and me hiding behind books. He jumped on a Troll when he was eleven years old to save me' she laughed 'he's my hero, Dad and I have to fix him.' Dan embraced his daughter and kissed her forehead. He said 'love him and let your mum mother him, how does that sound?' she smile up at her father, and said 'that sounds like a plan, dad.'

Harry looked over to the embracing father and daughter and said 'Unhand my girlfriend Sir; it's been far too long since I told her how beautiful she looks.' He walked over to them and bowed deeply saying 'M'lady, may I have the honour of your company this afternoon for a spot of luncheon and a stroll through the park?' he took her hand and gently kissed the back of it. She stifled a giggle before saying 'I would be honoured to accompany you this afternoon.' Dan rolled his eyes and said 'god, you two are so sweet you're making my teeth hurt!'

##

Harry took Hermione to La Rusta, a little bistro just of the high street in Crawley. Hermione had the Chicken and Chorizo salad while Harry had the Eggs Benedict with spinach. The conversation was easy and fun; reminiscing about their time at school and the many high jinks they got up to. After lunch the tool a stroll through the memorial gardens a short walk away from the bistro. They walked arm in arm, her head resting on his left shoulder 'Harry, do you want me to come with you to see Narcissa?' Harry tensed ever so slightly at the question, he knew it was coming but hearing it out loud was still a little shocking for him. 'You want to go back to the place where everything happened?' he responded.

They walked on a little farther and sat at a nearby bench. 'I came to terms with what she did years ago Harry; Ron might have been drugging me but he supported me getting professional help. I'm much better than I was even a year ago, in fact I've not had an episode since the morning you tried...' her voice trailed off. Harry said 'you know that you can say it in front of me, don't you?'

Her eyes welled up as she said 'I nearly lost you, Harry; and I can't get the image of you lying unconscious on that hospital bed out of my head. All through school I sat countless hours while you were in the infirmary because of Quidditch or some other stupid thing.' This revelation shook Harry, he never realised that his actions would have caused this reaction in Hermione; he hated that he hurt her. 'I hurt you, I was selfish and I hurt you and I will never forgive myself for that Hermione.' he said softly, he reached out his hand to take hers but faltered and out his hand next to hers on the bench before saying 'I was tired of everything, I felt lost and lonely. It got to the stage that tomorrow was another day that I had to get through; I couldn't go another night hearing her dying for me Hermione.'

The facade he presented to the world crumbled in front of her eyes; Arthur and Minerva had witnessed its complete collapse, her mother saw a glimpse that morning, and now before her was the truth of just how badly broken he was. His breathing had become shallow and rapid, the colour drained from his face. He began 'Her...' before slumped forward and collapsed on to the ground. 'HARRY!' Hermione cried out and a passing woman came rushing over to help. The lady said 'is everything alright?' Hermione was barely coherent and stuttered 'he...he...was panicking and then h...h...his breathing changed before he collapsed.' While Hermione was flapping, the lady put Harry in the recovery position and said 'It sounds like his blood pressure dropped; it can if you're panicking.'

After a moment his blood pressure equalised and he slowly opened his eyes, 'ho...how did I get on the ground?' he asked, the lady replied 'you had a pretty big panic attack by the look of it, scared you're wife half silly.' Harry tried to sit up, the lady said 'whoa boy! You rest there a moment while I make sure your wife is ok' he gave in and lay back down. 'Are you alright my love?' the lady asked Hermione, who nodded and said 'I just got a scare is all, I'll be alright.' The lady smiled at her and said 'I'm Claire Wood' Hermione replied 'I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter.' She gestured to Harry who had gingerly sat up. 'Your names sound very familiar, have we met before?' asked Claire looking from Hermione to Harry. Hermione offered 'my parents are dentists, perhaps they have treated you?' Claire shook her head and said 'My dentists are in Poole.' She looked at Harry and saw the faint scare on his forehead 'it's you!' she exclaimed 'you're him and you're you' she said to them excitedly. Harry couldn't resist 'if you're you and she's her and she's her and you're you, am I still me? Who's eating this chicken?' Hermione smirked at Harry's attempted humour, Claire on the other hand grinned and said 'smoke me a kipper; I'll be back for breakfast!' Hermione shook her head and said 'not another dwarfer.'

'Claire, no offence, but how do you know who we are?' asked Harry. Claire said 'I was married for a few years to a wizard. Ollie was his name; he was always going on about you both. He passed away three years gone by.' Harry stood and sat down on the bench again 'Ollie, do you mean Oliver as in Oliver Wood?' he asked, Claire nodded 'Did you know him?' she asked, Harry said 'he was my Quidditch captain and we were in the same house at school. He was one of the best people I had ever met, a bit mental when it came to Quidditch but a top bloke. It was him that got me into Red Dwarf, he kept saying the team were the "boys from the gryff" until the girls on the team took exception to it and threatened to take a beaters bat to his trousers, while he was in them.' said Harry.

Hermione asked 'where you in Hogwarts?' Claire shook her head, 'no, I'm not magical. He told me all about your world though and what you did. He always spoke very warmly of his house and of you both.'

They continued to talk for a while, eventually Hermione took Claire's number and they agreed that they should meet up with other members of the team and hold a memorial for Oliver. Harry and Hermione stopped by the Ministry to speak with Kingsley about the Malfoy's. Harry had a really big favour to ask.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: all of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

" _Forgiving is not a gift to someone else. Forgiving is your gift to yourself" - Buddha_

Hope you enjoy.

##

'You ask too much, Harry.' complained Kingsley, as Harry paced about the minister's office before saying 'I ask too much? Are you listening to yourself? Hailed as the messiah when I was just a baby, the whole Wizarding world falling over its self to get me to do what the rest of you couldn't and you tell me I'm asking too much.' His anger was begging to get the better of him. Hermione tried to defuse the situation by saying 'you have to admit, Minister, he does have a point.' Kingsley sat back in his plush chair and said 'you can't keep bring up the fact that you defeated Voldemort.' This was entirely the wrong thing to say. Harry stopped and slowly turned to the minister, a man he respected and called friend, with no emotion in his voice and said 'you had better choose the next words that you speak very carefully, Kingsley.' Harry's eyes burned like emerald crucibles.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was a tough Auror in his day both feared and respected in equal measure, he never once backed down from a fight no matter the odds. Seeing Harry like this was frightening, 'Listen, Harry' he spoke softly 'I understand why you need to do this but I cannot in good conscience agree to it. You have absolutely no grounds to expect the outcome you want.' Harry walked slowly to the edge of Kingsley's desk and held out his hand 'I have this'.

##

Harry and Hermione Apparated to the edge of the wards that surrounded Malfoy manor, dressed in the official ropes of their office. They walked the hundred yards or so to the front door of the once grand estate. The front door opened and they were permitted to enter by the door man who escorted them to the drawing room. Narcissa Malfoy remained seated as they entered the room, Draco stood to greet their guests and said 'Director Potter, Deputy Director Granger I must say I was surprised when Kreacher brought us your letter. I thought that that old elf was long dead.' 'Mr Malfoy, Lady Malfoy thank you for agreeing to meet with us. If we could dispense with the formalities, I would like to speak plainly with you both. I believe that you might be able to help me with something and In return I have a proposition for you both.'

Narcissa considered him for some time before intimating for them to take a seat, 'Mr Potter, what do you think we can assist you with? As far as I am aware we have not breached the conditions of our incarceration; I know that you have no need for gold, indeed the Malfoy coffers are nowhere near as abundant as they once were thanks to my late husband. We have no social standing and we have no friends, it would appear you have me at a total loss.'

'May I call you Narcissa?' asked Harry, she nodded her agreement 'Narcissa, in the forest you lied to Tom, why?' the question took both Draco and his mother by surprise, she replied 'I saw something in you that I had never witnessed before. Men cowered and grovelled at his feet, sycophants and cowards all of them; but you were different. You had fought him four times and came away unscathed, he feared you and yet you willingly stood before him to die. I knew then that had to help you no matter the cost. I knew that there was a fleeting chance that I could get to my son.' A single tear rolled down her alabaster cheek as she spoke.

'Your late husband hated me, Draco hated me. Did you not hate me as well?' Harry asked, Draco replied 'I hated you because my father respected you more than me, I hated the fact that everyone wanted to be your friend without you even trying. In the end I hated you because I wasn't you.' Hermione asked 'and what about me, Draco?' He smiled at her and said 'I never hated you Hermione, I was envious that you were better than me at almost everything. I was a prick because it was expected of me to be a prick.' He had the good grace to look ashamed of himself as he said this 'I really am sorry, to both of you.'

Harry cleared his throat and said 'The story has been held back from the Prophet for the time being; however I need you to know the reason for us being here today.' They proceeded to tell them what had happened; Narcissa and Draco both looked horrified at the revelations. 'my real reason for coming here was to find out why someone who appeared to have a real dislike for me would have put everything on the line to help me, as you did Narcissa. When someone who showed me great affection would treat us both with such distain, I feel that if I can figure that out then I can at least try to move on.' Harry explained.

'I wanted my son back safely; I knew that keeping you alive would get me that. I had heard of your fierce loyalty to those that had earned your trust. It was my hope that by lying to him, you would take me into your trust. I had completely selfish needs, but then you stood in front of the Wizengamot and begged for clemency on my behalf, when the entire Wizarding world was baying for my blood. I saw again the same fearlessness, no, willingness to do what you saw as the right thing. No one would have though any less of you had you chosen not to do those things but you did them anyway.'

Hermione asked 'How has the last few years been for you both?' Draco replied 'Our house is falling down round about us, we have a cook and a doorman, and we are confined to the house because of the blood wards. You could say that it's been tough.' Harry reached into his robes and pulled out a roll of parchment 'I have in my hand a full ministerial pardon for both of you, that has been signed by the Minister himself and the Chief Warlock.' He handed the parchment to Draco who unrolled it and read it over quickly before handing it to his mother. As she read over the pardon Harry spoke 'the pardon comes with some stipulations that are non-negotiable, however I feel that they are more than generous.'

Narcissa carefully rolled up the parchment and placed it deliberately on the table in front of her. 'What are your terms, Harry?' she asked him 'in order to benefit from this pardon the Malfoy name has to die. As Head of House Black I am prepared to reinstate you back to the family, with this you will both become Blacks, Andi was welcomed back by Sirius before he died, and with Lucius passing he would have wanted his favourite cousin to come back to the family.' Harry let these words settle before continuing 'As I have done with Andi, I will give you a percentage of the Black estate, a property each and enough gold to start your own business doing whatever you please just as long as it is legal. Draco, if you can accept me as your head of house I will give you one other thing, should you chose to marry, your first born will be named as my heir.'

Draco asked 'why are you doing this Harry, I don't deserve any of what you are offering.' Harry replied 'I have to believe that people can and do change; that no one is beyond salvation. I'm tired of all the hate.' Narcissa asked 'can we take some time to think this over? It's a lot to take in.' Hermione responded by saying 'Call Kreacher when you have decided, he will bring us to you.' with that Harry and Hermione stood and took their leave.

##

Kingsley offered Chief Jones a glass of Whisky; both men had reservations about Director Potter's request but for very different reasons. Kingsley knew exactly how persuasive Harry could be, Jones knew exactly how the Malfoy's worked and as far as he was concerned just because the head of the snake was cut off, and it didn't mean that another one wouldn't take its place. In time Jones would come to regret this stance as the blacks became a recognised force for the betterment of society.

##

'Kreacher' Narcissa called out, and the aging elf popped into the drawing room with Harry and Hermione. Narcissa stood and held the pardon in her hand, she took a moment to compose herself before saying 'Harry, Draco and I have discussed your proposal over the last few hours and we have reached a decision. We would like to accept your offer.' Harry smiled at the new Blacks and said 'Welcome back to the family!' and held out his arms to embrace the pair.

A couple of hours after the meeting with Narcissa and Draco, Harry sat in the library of Grimmauld Place, Hermione joined him and said 'How are you feeling babe?' He smiled at her and said 'I think I am getting close to a break through. I suppose I really should go and see Molly at some point. If Narcissa can change, maybe I can get some answers from her before she goes through the veil.' Hermione looked at him and said 'I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, Love. You might never work it out.' And with that she kissed him deeply. Harry said it's been a long day, let's go to bed.'


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: J.K Rowling is the master that created Harry Potter. Not me.

" _To forgive takes Love, to forget takes humility" – Mother Teresa_

##

" _The Boy Who Lived."_ _He said very softly before the flash of green light hit him._ 'NO!' Harry sat bolt upright in his bed, his heart racing, Hermione rushed from her room to his side 'Harry!' her arms wrapped round him. No words were spoken as she simply held him, giving him an anchor to cling to while he fought to regain control over his demons. It broke her heart to see him like this, for the seventeen years they had known each other, Harry Potter stood tall and taken everything that the world threw at him. He had risked life and limb to do what was right, no matter the consequences and now when the war was long over, payment for all that he had endured was being taken.

#

In the days after Draco and Narcissa we welcomed back to house Black, Harry had arranged for them to meet with Andi and Teddy. It started as a tense affair until Teddy changed his features to look like Draco, this brought smiles to every ones faces and lead to the sisters hugging each other. Harry took his leave and left them to get to know each other. As he walked towards the edge of the wards Draco caught up with him, 'Hey Harry!' Harry turned and said 'Hey Draco, what's up?' Draco looked at this feet a little lost for words 'it's just…' he began, the emotion of the day evident in his voice 'I wanted to thank you Harry, what you've given us…..' his voice faltered, Harry put his hand on Draco's shoulder and said 'all I have given you is a second chance. It's up to you to decide what you want to do with it. Oh before I forget, I've got something for you.' Harry reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. 'Like I said, it's a second chance for more than us.' He handed it to Draco and walked away; he reached the edge of the wards and turned to look at the former Slytherin before Apparating away.

#

" _Draco,_

 _I was a more than a little surprised when Potter got in touch. He told me what has happened and how you and your mother have been given your lives back. He said that I should write you a letter and he would back sure that you got it. I find myself wondering why he's doing all of this, doesn't it strike you as strange that a Gryffindor would go out of his way to help a Slytherin?_

 _Over the years since the end of the war I have thought about making contact with you, just to see if you were alright or maybe to see if I was alright, who knows? I was sorry to hear that your father passed away, it can't have been easy for you both. Again I wanted to make contact but…_

 _What happen to us Draco? The summer before the war started was magical and then when "HE "returned you changed, you became cold and distant. It hurt seeing you like that. Anyway that's all in the past now, I am glad that Potter… Harry has given you and your mother a new lease of life and I hope that you grab it with both hands._

 _I don't expect anything from you Draco but if you are in need of a friend I would be happy to be friends with Draco Black._

 _Yours_

 _Pansy X"_

Draco stared disbelievingly at the letter in his hand, in the distance he heard the pop of Harry Apparating away and looked up. This really was a second chance for him to do some good, to right a lot of the wrongs that he stupidly bought into. He turned and ran back to the house, not wanting to waste any more time dwelling on the mistakes of his past. He was a Black and this was his chance to prove it.

##

On the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole, Ginny Weasley sat in the garden of Potter Cottage. If it were not for Greta keeping her busy she would have withdrawn into herself. 'Missus Ginny, Mister Harry wants to see you.' She looked up at the elf, a fading hint of excitement in her eyes 'Is he coming here?' she asked, to which Greta nodded 'Him and hims grangy is coming soon.' Ginny shot to her feet and ran to the cottage, she needed to change. She stopped at the door and said to herself 'No Ginny, what you're wearing is fine.' She sighed and walked back to the garden, if she was to move on then this was the first step.

Harry and Hermione Apparated to the front garden, Ginny heard them arrive but carried on hoeing the flower bed. Harry and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. 'I know that you're there, I'm not deaf you know.' Ginny called out to the pair. 'Greta, would you mind getting us some tea please?' Harry asked the little elf who promptly popped away. Ginny stopped what she was doing and looked at the pair before going in to wash her hands. Harry and Hermione made their way to the patio table and sat next to each other.

'To what do I owe the pleasure?' said Ginny as she walked back to the garden, Harry turned and watched her walk towards them. 'When does your leave of absence end?' Harry enquired Ginny smiled at him and said 'I go back in two weeks, why?' Greta arrived with the tea; Harry deliberately took his time to pour the tea on to the three cups. This was a tactic that he employed when he was questioning criminals. It really set them ill at ease. 'Right, what are you not telling me?' snapped Ginny. Hermione said 'nothing has been made public as yet. The Minister and the Chief Warlock wanted a statement to be made on the WWN and a full exposé to be published in the prophet. Harry vetoed that idea completely.' Ginny looked at Harry who was sitting back and staring into his cup, she smiled uneasily at Hermione and asked 'but what are you both not telling me?'

Harry set his cup down and said 'Ollie passed away about three years ago, did you know?' Ginny looked confused 'Who?' she asked 'Ollie, Oliver Wood, we bumped into his widow a few days ago. I'm going to throw him a memorial sometime next month; I would like you to be there.' He explained. Ginny's hand shot to her mouth, she shook her head in disbelief 'that's awful, of course I'll be there. Everyone from Gryffindor will want to be there.'

Harry carefully placed his cup down and said 'that's not the only reason we're here, Gin, I've done something and I thought that you deserved to hear it from me first.' Ginny looked from Harry to Hermione before saying 'You're pregnant already? It's barely been a month Hermione.' 'No, Gin' said Harry, 'You are way off the mark on this, and besides we don't even sleep in the same bedroom. Neither of us is ready for that just now, not that it's your concern.' He said with a little bit of steel to his tone. 'I met with Draco and Narcissa the other day; I needed something from them and in return for their co-operation they have been given a full pardon and I have re-installed them as Blacks.'

'Are you fucking crazy? Why would you do something like that? C'mon Harry tell me that this is a sick joke!' exclaimed Ginny. Harry sat and stared at his former wife, his features emotionless 'Narcissa earned the right when she lied to Riddle; I'm living, breathing proof of her actions.' Said Harry, Ginny countered with 'And Draco? I suppose he was a double agent like Snape, was he?' the vitriol dripping from every syllable she spoke. Harry stood and stared down Ginny; Hermione picked up her tea and left them to it. Harry calmly said 'Draco was nothing more than a pampered, entitled, self aggrandizing prick at school. The worst he did was breaking my nose and say some mean things to people.'

The legendry Weasley temper was beginning to rise in Ginny, 'how can you stand there and defend that slime ball after everything he said and done?' she screamed at Harry from three feet across the table, his response was ended the fight 'you did far worse than he did and I gave you a second chance.' The colour drained from her face, she sat back in her chair defeated. Harry continued 'I gave him and his mother a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the public, if they can do it then….'his voice threatened to break as he spoke. Hermione read the signs and quickly reacted to take hold of his hand. 'I …erm... I thought that erm, if…if he could change then… then may…'he closed his eyes, yet the tears still came. His hands began to tremble; he fought to control his breathing. Hermione stood up so fast that her chair was propelled backwards; she got on her knees and held him tightly, whispering to reassure him that he was fine, stroking his hear with her hand.

Ginny had never seen Harry like this before and it scared her. Not because she didn't know what to do but because this was Harry. The strongest man she had ever known was now nothing more than a quivering shell frightened of the world. She was transfixed to the sight before her; Hermione was calming him down and holding him as though he was made from fine bone china and how shatter at the faintest whisper of a breeze. Ginny knew that she could never have managed to bring him down that way Hermione had done. Ginny called for Greta 'in the dresser in my bedroom I have a double strength dose of dreamless sleep potion, can you bring it please?' Greta disappeared and returned an instant later. 'Thank you, Hermione gave him this and he'll at least have a full nights rest.' Hermione took the vial, Harry tried to refuse it but she insisted that he take it. 'Thanks Greta, now could you take Harry home and stay with him until Hermione comes back? She won't be too long.' Greta took his hand as Hermione let go, elf and wizard disappeared.

'Hermione, wha…what just happened?' Ginny asked softly 'He had a panic attack, he gets them now and again. That was a mild one thankfully.' replied Hermione. Ginny, who looked visibly shaken, said 'I need something a lot stronger than tea.' Both women got up and went to the house. Ginny sat on the couch while Hermione went and got a bottle of wine from the fridge. When she returned she poured two glasses and said 'What he was saying before it happened was If Draco can change, then he was hoping that you and Ron could too. He see's you all as his family and this has broken him, Ginny, more than losing Sirius or watching Cedric die losing your three has practically crippled him.'


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.

I have tried to follow the advice that I've been given, I hope that this story reads a little better.

Thanks for reading.

##

Ginny sat shocked as Hermione handed her a glass of wine, 'how did I miss this Hermione?' she asked in a slightly pleading tone.

Hermione took a drink of her wine 'we all missed it Gin, even me.' Both women sat in silence as they contemplated what had happened.

Ginny asked 'how bad is it Hermione?'

Hermione sat her glass down and said 'before I started getting treatment I was having panic attacks every other day, being in Hogwarts certainly didn't help. I would go and hide out in the room of requirement; it would always become my bedroom at home. I felt comfortable, I felt safe and it allowed me to function normally. You have to remember that Harry has had to endure more than anyone we know, for longer than any of us could possibly imagine. What set him off could have been any number of things, Gin.'

Ginny shakily let go of the breath that she was holding and said 'the first time I saw Harry was when he was trying to get through the barrier at the station, he was so very polite. Of course at that point I had no idea who he was, mum told him how to get through and all I could say was "Good Luck". All year Ron would write and say how cool it was that he was a best friend to Harry Potter.'

Hermione giggled 'the first thing I did was fix his broken glasses and then I said to him "Holy Cricket, you're Harry Potter!" Of course I had read all about him but I never dreamed that I would become friends with him.' she grew lugubrious as her thoughts drifted to the many times she had sat beside his bed and watched him lying unconscious. 'He told me that when he was unconscious in the hospital, he was standing with his parents watching us. He told me of the conversation that he had with his mum. He apologised for letting them down, Gin, when has he ever let anyone down? Lily told him to come back because he wanted to stay with them.' This revelation broke Ginny's heart.

##

Hermione stayed with Ginny for a few more hours before Apparating back to Grimmauld Place. 'Greta, thank you for looking after Harry for Me.' she said to the elf.

'Greta is pleased to sit with Mister Harry. It's good that his grangey is back to care for him. Hims wheezes have hurted him and he being very sad about it. Yous are taking good care of Mister Harry' Hermione hugged the little elf and wished her a good night before the elf popped away.

Hermione decided that she would stay with Harry from now on. While it was nice to pretend that they were taking things slowly, they both knew that what they wanted more than anything was to be together and for the worlds to know it. She went first to her room and got changed before coming back to the master room and climbing in beside Harry. When he woke the next morning he would be surprised to find Hermione beside him.

##

Ginny sat looking at the empty wine glass that Hermione had left sitting on the table, a lot had happened at what should have been a routine visit. She thought back to the trials after the war and how Harry attended every trial, not to gloat but because he felt that he owed it to everyone that had fallen, to make sure that justice was served. She remembered that after every trial he returned looking more jaded that the day before. Was that when it began for her? Was this the point when she made sure that her world was all sunshine and rainbows? It was certainly the point that she stopped asking how it went, at least that was until the Malfoy's where in the dock.

For the briefest moment, after Lucius was sentenced Harry looked like his old self again, and then Narcissa was in the dock. Harry stood and asked for leave to address the chamber, something that hadn't been done at any other trial. Harry spoke of how this woman defied the dark lord so that she could get to her only child; he spoke passionately about the sacrifices that were made for him by all those that had fallen. He openly wept in the chamber as he spoke about the sacrifice his own mother had made how she willingly gave her own life for his and that her sacrifice protected him. He pleaded with the chamber to show clemency to the woman that put her own life on the line to allow him to bring Tom Riddle to an end. She never understood the reason for him doing that until now.

Narcissa played her role as the proper entitled pure-blood wife perfectly, but underneath the expensive clothes and all her airs and graces she was a loving mother. Harry understood her willingness to put everything n the line to ensure the safety of her child and now Ginny understood it too. She also began to understand how badly he was hurting because the person he looked to as a surrogate mother had done the polar opposite to what Narcissa and his own mother had done. She had sullied the sanctity of the bond between mother and child, Ginny was guilty of it to an extent and perhaps that's why they had never had children.

Ginny sat for hours thinking about her actions, her mother's manipulative behaviour and her stupid, jealous, and selfish brother. She looked around the cottage, although it was her house it could never be her home. She called for Greta to bring her some parchment and a quill.

'missus Ginny, Yous not going to be writing silly hurt full letters to mister harry, is you?' asked the elf

'I promise you Greta, that's not what I'm doing. I've cause our Harry enough hurt.' She replied

" _Harry,_

 _I don't deserve the second chance that you want to give me, and I certainly don't deserve at the tears that you have cried. All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy; I know that Hermione will give you that. In the short time that you were here with us, she did more for you than I did in the entire ten years we were married._

 _While you might eventually forgive me for what I did, please know that I never will. I cannot sit here and accept a stipend of 5000 Galleon's a month; I don't care what the protocol dictates. I will be going back to the Prophet in two weeks and two weeks after that I will move for Potter Cottage to somewhere of my own. You have a noble heart, Harry, perhaps too noble for this world._

 _I will do everything I can to earn back your friendship and your trust, and while you don't need it I give you and Hermione my blessing, you have always been hers._

 _I will forever be in your debit._

 _Ginny"_

'Greta, can you deliver this to Harry please?' she asked the elf when she was finished, Greta nodded and disappeared with the letter. Ginny went to her bedroom, it had been a long tiring day, she hoped that the wine was enough to dull her senses; the last thing she wanted was to re-live the events to the day.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Harry & CO belongs to J.K Rowling

I found this chapter quite hard to write, not because of the subject matter but mainly because it's a filler chapter. Credit goes to my wife for giving me the idea of how to get Harry out of bed.

##

In the days that followed the visit to Potter Cottage, Harry became more withdrawn. He stayed in bed most days, lying still and staring blankly at the wall. On the fourth day Emma arrived with Hermione.

'Hermione, why don't you stay down here and make us a pot of tea, I'll be down with Harry shortly.'

She wanted to say something to her mother, to let her know how sacred she was of Harry doing something stupid again. Emma sensed the fear building in her daughter and gave her a reassuring smile.

'Mum...' Hermione began.

'Let me go to him, He promised you that he wouldn't do that again, you have to trust him.' said her mum. Emma turned and walked up the stairs.

His mind felt raw, like an exposed nerve. Every thought and every memory burned like ice as he replayed the words that Molly spoke during the dinner and her trial.

'Harry?' Emma called softly to him, the sound of her voice brought him back to the present and for the first time in days he spoke.

'Emma?' Harry's voice cracked.

'Hermione thought that you needed to talk to someone.'

'I'm sorry, Emma, I don't feel well enough to be around people, I think I'm coming down with something.' Harry tried to palm her off with a pathetic excuse.

'Let's make believe that you said that you were pleased to see me and you're about to sit up. How does that sound?'

Harry rolled onto his back and sighed 'you Granger women really are kind of pushy, did anyone ever tell you that?'

Emma smiled 'actually, I'm only a Granger through marriage, Puckle is my maiden name. Puckle women have always been forceful.'

Why don't you tell me what's going on in that head of your Harry?' Emma said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Harry's brow knitted before he spoke 'I can't stop this feeling'

'What feeling is that, Harry?' Emma enquired

'Empty'

'Is that all you are feeling?' she asked him.

'No, I feel sacred all the time. Right now the only place I feel comfortable is here, I realise that it's irrational to feel like that but I can't help it.'

Emma took a deep breath and said 'Dan gets like that some times, he doesn't realise that I know. I knew that he was in the army and that after three years he was discharged. He's never told me what happened but I know that it was something big. I see a lot of him in you; you're both fiercely loyal, you both love with all your heart and you take everything so very personally.'

No matter what the world throws at you both, you and Dan always meet the challenge head on. It's hard not to admire a man like that.'

Harry looked at Emma and said 'a couple of days ago I told Ginny about the Malfoy's and I completely lost it. Even now when I think about what Molly did...'

Emma moved over to Harry and engulfed him in her embrace and said 'Harry it's alright to feel hurt because of what she did. We certainly don't think any different of you because of her actions.'

Hermione stood silently at the door and wiped away a silent tear that began to roll down her face. In her hand she held the letter that Ginny wrote a few nights ago. She composed herself and knocked on the door before walking in.

'Harry, this came for you the other day, it's from Ginny.'

Harry looked up and saw that Hermione had been crying and said 'Emma, do you think that you could give Hermione and me a couple of minutes?'

'Of course, I'll make a start on lunch and I expect to see you both at the table.' Emma said as she got to her feet.

Hermione handed the unopened letter to Harry, who eyed it suspiciously.

'Greta delivered it a few days ago, I wasn't sure if you were up to reading it.'

'Thank you Hermione, for everything. You deserve far better than what I've given you recently.' said Harry.

'You're right, Harry, I do deserve better especially from you. I have been there for you when you needed it most; but this? This isn't you; this isn't the Harry Potter that stood between me and a werewolf, or drove off a hundred Dementors to save Sirius from being kissed. This is the Harry Potter that the Dursley's would have created had they had their way. So either you get up and come down for lunch or ...' Hermione left the threat opened to get her point across.

'Or what, Hermione, You'll leave me? Is that what you're going to say?' demanded Harry

'No, actually, I was going to say that I was going to throw cold water over you and force you to get up. I will never leave you, no matter what you do or say Harry. I have waited far too long to be with you to walk away now. So get up and get washed.' Hermione admonished him and turned and left the room.

Twenty minutes later Harry walked into the kitchen, dressed and his hair still wet, the Granger women smiled at him 'honestly Harry, are you even a Wizard? You could have used the Drying Charm in your hair.' Smirked Hermione'

'It's good to see you up and about Harry.' said Emma smiling at him. Harry sat down at his plate and devoured everything, over the last few days he ate next to nothing and was now making up for it.

'What did Ginny say?' asked Hermione.

'She's refused the Stipend I gave her and has said that in a month she's moving out of Potter Cottage'

'Seriously?' asked Hermione.

'Stipend, what stipend?' enquired Emma.

Harry explained 'When I annulled the marriage, as Wizarding protocol dictates if the male has the means they must provide a stipend of no less than 500 galleon's a month, and a residence for a period of up to twenty years. I gave her the use of Potter Cottage and a 5000 Galleon a month stipend.'

Emma almost choked on her sandwich as she barked 'HOW MUCH?'

'5000 Galleon's' replied Harry

'After everything she did you to, you were going to reward her?' said Hermione, her tone becoming more and more threatening as she spoke.

'I had the papers written up before I tried to...' his voice faltered slightly causing both women to watch him intently 'erm, before the incident. I was leaving her and I wanted to make sure that she was looked after.' Harry answered.

'Well I think that that was a very considerate thing to do, Harry. It just proves that you have an old soul.'

Lunch passed without incident, the women wanted to know more about the post he was taking at Hogwarts, the memorial that they were planning for Oliver and his next step. Emma spoke up 'since you have visited Draco and his mother and Ginny it would only be fair to visit Ron.' Harry and Hermione started to protest, Emma continued 'hear me out. You have both known him for most of your lives, and I know that he's done some unforgivable things but I think that you both need to see him, either together or alone, because if you don't then it'll eat away at you.'

Harry replied 'as much as I hate to say it, I think that you're right Emma. We have been through so much together the three of us, I think telling him about Draco face to face is the least he deserves.'

'I don't like it' Hermione offered 'but I understand your point. Maybe I'll even get some answers from him.'

##

In less than 3 months Hogwarts would be welcoming the new intake of students and one new professor. Headmistress McGonagall was both pleased and anxious of what this new appointment would entail. She had absolutely no doubts that Harry Potter would be the finest Defence teacher that the school had ever had; indeed he showed his prowess as a teacher while he was still at school and through his efforts many students, that would have failed their defence exam during his fifth year, achieved pass marks far exceeding what they had hoped.

A faint pop drew Minerva's attention 'Headmistress, Master Harry asked Kreacher to bring this to you.' croaked the elderly elf before handing her a letter.

'Thank you Kreacher, Does Harry wish you to await a response?' asked Minerva

'No headmistress.' replied Kreacher.

'Then thank you, you are free to go.' Minerva bowed her head as a mark of respect to the elderly elf, which returned the bow and vanished with a pop.

" _Minerva,_

 _I wish that I had better news to share with you._

 _A few days ago I had a chance meeting with a woman named Claire Wood; she is the widow of Oliver wood._

 _It grieves me to inform you that he passed away some three years ago. When Claire told Hermione and me I hadn't the heart to ask how it happened._

 _I would like to hold a memorial for Oliver in the next few weeks and I was hoping you would consent to holding it at Hogwarts._

 _Oliver was a great inspiration to the Gryffindor team that I played in and it would be a fitting tribute to his memory._

 _If you can suggest some dates for next month I will begin the arrangements._

 _Yours_

 _Harry Potter"_

Minerva found that she could hardly breathe after reading Harry's letter. The aged Witch slumped in her chair wondering what else this year would throw at them. First there was the drama regarding Harry, and then the revelations about Molly's antics, and now news that her former Quidditch Captain was dead. She didn't think that she could take much more drama.

##

'Harry, as Director of the DMLE you have the right to speak with any prisoner as does Hermione as your deputy. You don't need permission from me or Minister Shacklebolt.' explained Chief Jones.

'I understand that, however the thing I need is something similar to what you both gave me for the former Malfoy's.' said Harry

'You want a full Pardon for the Weasley's?' asked Chief Jones, the shock evident in his voice.

'Something like that.' replied Harry.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: The Wizarding world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.

Sorry for the delay in updating. Hope you enjoy.

##

'Something like that? What do you mean something like that? What exactly are you playing at Harry?' Chief Jones asked angrily.

'I need, well we need to talk to him. I need answers from him before I leave the ministry and if I can give him an incentive then I'll get the answers that I need.' Explained Harry

Jones countered with 'and you think offering him a full pardon will get you your answers, do you?'

Harry shook his head and said 'He's not getting a full pardon; I only want him released to my custody for one day.'

'Next time' Jones replied 'start with that, I was beginning to question your sanity for a moment Harry'

Harry blanched at this comment, Jones had no knowledge of Harry's break downs but this was a little too close to home for his liking.

'What's happening that is so important that you want him released?' asked Jones. Harry explained the memorial and the significant role that Wood played in Harry's role as the youngest seeker in a century and Ron's almost pathological hero worshiping of Wood saw Ron try to emulate Oliver when Ron became the Gryffindor Keeper.

'Ok Harry, I'll approve it but don't think that you can get something similar for Molly, it's not going to happen.' said Chief Jones.

##

The snoring could be heard three floors away; it was so loud that other prisoners were complaining. When Harry explained what he was there to do, the gaoler grinned and shook his hand saying 'much obliged to you Mr Potter, much obliged.' Harry and Hermione walked a few feet behind the gaoler and smiled at how excited the man was to get a day of peace and quiet in a couple of weeks.

They finally got to Ron's cell door; the noise was painfully loud at this point. Harry said to the gaoler 'I'll wake him of you open the door and stand aside' the gaoler did as he was instructed and opened the door.

Harry conjured a bucket of ice cold water and threw it of the sleeping Weasley, how sat bolt upright on his bed gasping for air. Hermione was leaning against the wall in floods of tears at how funny it was.

Ron barked 'What the blood hell was that for?'

Harry said 'for the snoring' before continuing to laugh at his friend's discomfort.

'Next time shout or just shake me' grumbled Ron

'Where's the fun in that? Smirked Harry 'Get up and changed, we will meet you in interview room 3' and with that the pair walked away. Ron looked down at himself and said 'I'm fucking soaked.' The gaoler smiled, it was really beginning to be a good day.

Fifteen minutes after he was awoken, Ron was lead in to the designated room. Harry and Hermione sat across facing him. He stood on the threshold of the interview room, almost reluctant to face his oldest friends. They watched him intently, registering his discomfort; Ron took a deep breath and stepped into the room.

'Thank you Mr Hawkins, we'll call you should we need you' said Harry

'Very good, sir' Replied Mr Hawkins as he closed the door behind him.

The trio sat in silence for a moment, Harry and Hermione stared at Ron. Ron looked down at the table, unable to meet their eyes. His guilt weighed heavily on him.

Without looking up Ron said 'I know what you're going to ask, it's the same question I've been asking myself for years, but I don't have an answer.'

'Do you remember Oliver Wood?' asked Hermione.

'Of course I remember Wood; he was the best keeper we had had for years. I always said that if I got on the team I wanted to play just like him.'

'Oliver passed away about three years ago' said Harry

'Are you serious?'

'We found out a few days ago from his widow, we don't know how it happened.' explained Hermione.

Ron was stunned, Harry reached into his robes and pulled out an envelope and slid it across the table to the silent redhead.

'We have a proposition for you, Ron.'

Ron looked up and saw the same determined look in Harry's eyes that he had every time he played Quidditch.

'You give us answers and you get what's in that envelope' Harry answered the unasked question'.

'And what if I don't want what you have to offer?'

'Then we'll go now and we'll see you at the end of your sentence.' Both Harry and Hermione motioned to stand up.

'Wait, wait.' Ron held his hands up as he spoke, the desperation evident in his voice.

'Please don't go' begged Ron 'you don't know what it's like in here, I don't see anyone, I'm locked in my room all day, and they bring me next to nothing to eat.'

'I don't know what it's like?' questioned Harry 'For the first eleven years of my life my bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs. I didn't even know my own name until I was five, at least you've done something to deserve being in here. What the fuck did I do that was so bad I had to be beaten and starved and treated piece of filth?' Harry bristled with indignation. Ron sat open mouthed

'You've had a taste of what being Harry Potter is really like; tell me is it all you had hoped it would be?' asked Harry 'you've had the fame, you've had the gold and now you've experienced a tiny bit of what my childhood was really like. Tell me something Ron, do you get it now?'

'I...I never-'Ron started to say

'You never realised? Is that what you were going to say Ron? You never thought to ask, not once did you even bother to ask why I was wearing clothes that were five times too big for me, or why I lost so much weight during the summer, or were all the bruises came from. Well know you know.' Harry stood up so fast that his chair was propelled across the room behind him.

Harry paced the room trying to calm down; Hermione looked at Ron and shook her head and said 'all he ever wanted was friends and a family to love him. What you; Ginny, and your mum did to us was unforgivable Ronald.'

Ron screwed his eyes closed and put his head in his hands and said 'I never knew that you grew up like that mate, I promise you. I had read all those stories about you being this adventurer wizard that fought the Cynolycus and rode everywhere on the back of a Griffin. When I met you on the train I we relieved that you looked like a normal bloke just like me.'

Harry stopped and turned to the table and said in a businesslike tone 'in that envelope is a deal signed off by Chief Jones and Minister Shacklebolt agreeing to release you into my custody for thirty six hours. You will be magically tethered to me; the farthest you will be able to go from me is one hundred feet. During the period of your release into my custody, if you commit any crime your sentence will be doubled, you do anything that displeases me, and your sentence will be doubled. You talk with your mouth full and first I will knock your teeth in and then your sentence will be double. Are any of these rules unclear to you Mr Weasley?'

Ron shook his head, 'I need to hear the word Ron or the deal is off before we even get started' bellowed Harry, causing Ron to jump.

'Yes Mr Potter, I agree to those conditions.'

'Good now what we want from you is remorse, contrition, tears and general begging for forgiveness as well as a full and frank explanation.' said Harry.

'I saw you two getting closer during the hunt, at first I thought it was just because you were working on finding the Horcruxes. Then I started to notice little looks or little touches that suggested that there was more going on. Every time I wore that locket I noticed it more and more. That night I left something in my head snapped.

'I couldn't take it any longer so I blew up at you and then I left. I wanted to come back to you as soon as I Disparated. That night when I pulled you out of that pond, when you told me that you loved Hermione like a sister it gave me hope that I might stand a chance.'

Ron took a moment to wipe his nose before continuing 'It wasn't until you met up on the staircase that I realised that I never had even the faintest glimmer of hope. As soon as she said "I'll go with you" I knew. I won't excuse my actions and while my mother had a massive part to play in what I did to you both, ultimately it was me that did it and I will regret it forever.'

Hermione stood up and went over to Harry and whispered in his ear before returning to her seat before saying 'We believe that you are genuinely sorry which means that you will get 36 hours as a free man, but Harry has something else to tell you.'

Harry cleared his throat and dragged his chair over to the table and leaned on the back of it and said 'I got Draco and Narcissa a full pardon.' Ron stood to his feet. Hermione draw her wand and said 'sit down before I do something you'll regret'

Ron stared at the wand that was lazily pointed at his chest and considered his immediate future; he recognised the look in her eye and sat down.

'You got that bastard and his mother a full pardon after everything that he did, why?' asked Ron.

'I had to know why Narcissa risked everything to help me; I had to believe that if he could change after all that hatred then maybe someone that was supposed to love me could stop hating me.' offered Harry.

Hermione put her wand away and turned to Harry; who was gripping the back of the chair so hard that his hands were white. His eyes were closed and his lips were moving as though he was muttering.

She asked 'Harry, are you ok?'

Ron, confused, looked from Hermione to Harry 'What's going on?'

Hermione stood up and quickly got hold of Harry and sat him on the chair, 'Ron, get Mr Hawkins, now' Ron blinked at her 'NOW RON!' she roared at him, Ron shot off his chair like a scalded cat and half ran half stumbled to the door.

'Mr Hawkins!' shouted Ron as he pulled the door open 'Mr Hawkins we need you'

The gaoler ran into the room 'wha's going on in 'ere then Miss Granger?'

'Mr Hawkins, I need you to floo Hogwarts and get Madam Pomfrey here immediately. Tell her that Harry needs her.'

Mr Hawkins rushed out to the interview room to get to the nearest floo.

'Hermione, w...What's happening?' asked Ron.

'He's having a massive panic attack, Ron. You, Ginny and your fucking mother caused this, so have good look Ron. See what you did to the man that saw you as his family.'

Ron paled visibly as he watched Harry struggle to control his rising panic; his eyes darted from Harry to Hermione as she fought to calm him down.

The door of the interview room opened startling Ron, Mr Hawkins had returned with Madam Pomfrey. Hermione barely registered the mediwitch when she entered the room.

'How long has he been in this state?' Poppy asked

'Roughly about five minutes, as soon as it started I sent Mr Hawkins to fetch you.' replied Hermione.

'You've done an excellent job, dear but let me take over now.' Poppy took over from Hermione; she cast a diagnostic spell over him to gauge his heart rate and blood pressure.

'It's a good thing that you called for me when you did' remarked Poppy as she pulled a small vial from her robe pocket 'if we don't get him to sit down, his blood pressure will drop and he'll collapse and that could open a whole different can of worms.'

With the help of Mr Hawkins, they got Harry seated and Poppy gave him the contents of the vial 'After my last episode with Mr Potter, I took it upon myself to come up with something that isn't as addictive as the dreamless sleep potion he'd been self medicating with.' Poppy answered the unasked question in Hermione's eyes. 'It's an infusion of Valerian root, Camomile and Lavender. It's simple but effective and has the benefit that it will also help him to sleep.' As she spoke all their eyes were on Harry, the infusion had helped his breathing to become normal. The lines on his face softened as he unclenched his eyes. Finally he opened his eyes and sought out Hermione, his anchor.

'Poppy, I can't thank you enough for coming so fast.' said Hermione

'Think nothing of it my dear, I will send over a few vials for you to keep in emergencies.' She said to Hermione, before turning to Harry and saying 'However I would recommend seeing someone that specialises in the mental arts. You were lucky this time Mr Potter.' She fixed him with her usual matronly stare.

'I'll do that, Madam Pomfrey, thank you for everything.' said Harry, before he caught the mediwitch unawares by giving her a firm hug. Poppy blushed slightly and smiled at Harry before turning to leave to head back to Hogwarts.

'If that's all Miss Granger, I'll be outside' said Mr Hawkins before leaving them alone again.

The trio sat in an awkward silence, Ron looked at both Harry and Hermione but chose not to speak. Harry broke the uncomfortable silence by saying 'What's invisible and smells like Carrots?' both Hermione and Ron looked puzzled and said 'I don't Know?'

Harry grinned and said 'Rabbit Farts.'

Peals of laughter echoed round the room and for the briefest of moments they could have been back in the Gryffindor common room before the second war caused so much pain and heartache.

'Ron, it's going to take a long time for us to forgive you. We might never be as close as we once were but the first step is accepting my decision about Draco and his mother. Can you do that?' asked Harry after the laughter died away.

'I'll do my best mate, I really will.' Ron responded

'Good, that's all we can ask. I'll get the details of the memorial for Oliver to you as soon as it's all arranged.' Harry said as he stood up, Ron took this as his hint that the meeting was over. Harry held out his hand, Ron took it and both men shook before Ron walked to the door and knocked on it. Mr Hawkins opened the door.

Before the gaoler took him back to his cell, Ron turned to Harry and said 'make sure that you look after her Harry, she always deserved far better than me.'


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: The Wizarding world belongs to J.K Rowling.

It is my understanding that the Wee Lochan opened in 2008 however for the benefit of this story it opened in 2005.

The locations where Claire lives, the restaurant and the Park are all real.

Do enjoy.

##

The infusion that Poppy had given him was now making him feel drowsy. With heavy eyelids he looked at Hermione and said 'I think home you should take me.'

'You mean you think that I should take you home, Yoda' said Hermione with a smirk

'Tha's I wha said...' slurred Harry.

Hermione stood up and helped Harry to his feet and took him to the Chiefs office before Flooing directly to Grimmauld Place. The infusion that Poppy administered was a great success, Harry slept for two days.

##

In the time that Harry was sleeping Hermione worked on the memorial for Oliver. Although she didn't know him as well as Harry had, she wanted this to go well, not just for to honour Oliver's memory but to show his widow that he hadn't been forgotten and that she would always have friends in the magical world. Hermione found the number that Claire had given her and gave her a call.

'Hello?'

'Hi is this Claire?' asked Hermione

'Yes, can I help you?' replied Claire

'Claire, its Hermione Granger. We met a few days ago; you said that I could give you a call.'

'Oh Hi Hermione, How's Harry? Has he had any more attacks?' asked Claire, the concern evident in her voice.

'Unfortunately, he has. We'll get through it though. I was wondering if you were free for lunch, I have a few things that I wanted to go over with you for the memorial.'

Claire was silent for a moment 'you were serious about doing a memorial for Ollie?' she asked, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke.

'Ollie was the reason that Harry got into Quidditch, it's the least that we could do. Oliver was a special guy not just to Harry but to the entire team. Everyone wants to honour his memory and pay their respects to you.' As Hermione spoke, she could here Claire sobbing on the other end of the phone. 'Claire, tell me you address and I'll be there in a moment'

'K...Kenton, T...Tower Hill' stuttered Claire.

'I'll be at your front door in a few seconds' replied Hermione before she hung up.

'Kreacher?' the old elf popped in to the room 'Kreacher, Harry is asleep up stairs would you mind looking after him for a while I have to pop out.' Hermione enquired.

'Kreacher will tend to Master Harry, Missus Granger' replied the elf. Hermione thanked him before Apparating directly to Claire's doorstep.

The door bell rang, this gave Claire a start, she went to the door and was surprised to see Hermione standing there 'How did you get here?' she asked

'It's called Apparating; it's one of the ways that magical people can travel. Didn't Oliver ever side along with you?' Hermione enquired.

'You mean that thing where you feel like you're being squeezed through the inner tube of a bicycle tyre? Ollie took me a couple of times but he always told me to close my eyes really tight.' The thought that she shared something like this with her late husband set her off. Hermione caught Claire before her legs gave way and guided her into the living room.

Hermione sat the distraught woman on the couch and asked 'how about you tell me the way to the kitchen and I'll make us a pot of tea?' Claire pointed and said 'through there.'

Hermione went to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of tea

'I make us both a cup of NATO standard. Hope you don't mind.' Hermione said as she offered Claire a mug.

'NATO Standard is that some kind of wizard tea?' asked Claire

'No, my dad was a solider before he became a dentist. It just means white with two sugars, I don't usually indulge in sugar but I thought that your needs were greater than mine.' Hermione sat next to Claire.

Both woman sat and sipped their tea in silence; Claire cautiously cast a sideways glance at Hermione before setting her tea down on the coffee table.

'Hermione, why does Harry want to hold a memorial for Ollie?' she asked tentatively,

Hermione set her mug down and turned slightly to face Claire 'Harry is the type of person that takes every loss of someone he considers a friend very personal. During his first year at school, Oliver took him under his wing when it came to Quidditch. Harry feels most at ease in the air and the fact that Oliver allowed him that freedom means a great deal to him.' explained Hermione.

Claire listened intently to Hermione speak, and asked 'He means a lot to you, doesn't he?'

'He's the love of my life. He's in a really bad way at the moment and I don't really know how to fix him.' it was Hermione's turn to shed some tears.

Over the course of the next hour the women spoke at length about their lives and the men they loved, Claire was familiar with Harry's story as Oliver had spoken often about the youngest seeker in a century, she was outraged at the Weasley's for what they had done but when Hermione explained that the real culprit was getting her just desserts and that Ginny and, to a lesser extent, Ron had shown remorse.

'If you don't mind my asking' began Hermione

'How did he die?' interrupted Claire, Hermione nodded.

'Well after Ollie retired from Puddlemere United, we decided to spend some time in Scotland. Ollie always said that Glasgow was a beautiful city and that all you had to do was to look up and you would see just how beautiful. We went for dinner at a fabulous restaurant that we had heard so much about called Wee Lochan, it was a kind of impromptu celebration as we had only been married about eighteen months or so.' Claire took a breath before continuing.

'It was still early when we left the restaurant so we walked round the corner to Naseby Park. We sat on a bench and he told me all about the city; all the famous people that came from Glasgow and changed the world, he told me about the two famous football teams, Rangers and Celtic, and their intense rivalry. We walked through the park and came out at Marlborough Avenue.'

Hermione sensed that this was a very difficult thing for Claire to relive. She said 'I know that this is hard for you Claire.' Claire gave her a weak smile as she wiped away the solitary tear that rolled down her face before she carried on with her story.

'Two men approached us, the smaller of the two grabbed me and forced me against the fence and held a knife to my throat. The other man pulled out a knife and demanded Ollie's wallet. When he refused the man stabbed him twice in the chest before they both ran off. I screamed when I saw the blood. I don't know how long I knelt there holding him, trying to stop the bleeding. The next thing I know the ambulance arrived and Ollie was taken to the Southern General Hospital. He had lost a lot of blood; he was on life support for three days. One of the doctors was magical and recognised Ollie from his playing days, he said that his magic was trying to repair the damage but his core was greatly depleted due to the blood loss he had sustained. They took the decision to turn off the life support at eight o'clock in the evening. There was a brief flicker of hope when his heart rate grew stronger but then he-'she sobbed and put her hand to her mouth. Hermione pulled Claire into a comforting embrace and let her cry.

##

Harry slowly woke; his eyelids felt heavy and refused to stay open. 'Hermione' his voice croaked. He heard a faint pop, 'Kreacher, where is Hermione?' he asked in hoarse whisper,

'Mistress is not here, mistress said Kreacher was to look after you while mistress was out.' offered the elderly elf.

'Would you get me a cup of tea?' asked Harry, Kreacher popped away and returned after a moment with a hot cup of tea.

'Thanks Kreacher. Could you take me to Hermione when I'm ready?' asked Harry.

'Yes, Master.' replied Kreacher before popping away.

Harry carefully sat up in bad, he felt extremely tired. He tried to take a sip of tea but managed to spill some on his chest 'fuck! That's hot!' he said as he gingerly set the cup on the bedside table with his left hand while holding his wet t-shirt away from his chest with his right hand.

'Saviour of the Wizarding world, youngest head of the DMLE in its history and I'm spilling tea down myself like a toddler. Life doesn't get any better.' Harry sighed before getting out of bed and heading to the shower.

Harry stripped naked and looked at himself in the mirror. His chest bore the scar of the killing curse that hit him and destroyed the soul fragment, unlike the one that hit him when he was a baby; this scar looked like a burn. He looked down at his waistline; his years of training had kept him in shape. His philosophy was a simple one, how could he ask any of his Aurors to do anything if he wasn't prepared to do it himself? He liked to lead by example and his Aurors appreciated this stance. His Aurors, very soon they would be Hermione's Aurors and he would be nothing more than a teacher.

Harry stepped into the shower, letting the warm water cascade down his neck and back. He closed his eyes and thought of his recent attacks; how his anxiety had spiralled out of control and rendered him helpless. He could feel his anxiety beginning to rise but this time he didn't try to fight it, fighting seemed to amplify it. Instead he let the anxiety wash over him, his breathing shortened, he felt his chest begin to tighten, and he became dizzy. Instead of focusing on the symptoms of his anxiety he chose to focus on the sound water as it fell in a steady stream from the shower head and gradually his dizziness began to lessen due to his breathing becoming more regular.

He stood like this for almost fifteen minutes, just listening to the sounds of the bathroom, letting the warm water caress his neck and back. Eventually he reached for the shower gel and took some time to get washed.

Forty five minutes after Kreacher brought him his morning tea, Harry entered the kitchen 'Kreacher' called Harry.

'Yes, Master Harry?' answered Kreacher.

'I'm ready to go; can you please take me to Hermione now?' said Harry as he reached out his hand. Kreacher took his hand and the disappeared with a pop.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter. I own my laptop.

Once again I would like to thank everyone that has taken the time to read my story. I appreciate all the comments that have been left. I try to take all the criticism constructively. I will have made mistakes that a more seasoned writer wouldn't. In time I hope to learn from these mistakes and become a better writer because of them.

##

As Kreacher and Harry popped into the living room unannounced, Claire and Hermione were both startled. 'Harry! Would it hurt you to give people some advanced notice before you appear out of thin air?' Hermione demanded.

Harry laughed and said 'Sorry love, but in my defence I didn't exactly know where you were. Claire I am really sorry for dropping in like this.'

'It's good to see you again Harry, who's this little guy?' asked Claire

'This is Kreacher, he is my house elf.' Said Harry, before turning to the elf and telling him 'Kreacher this is Claire, she is a friend to my houses. I would like you to treat her as you treat Hermione and if she calls you please come to her.'

'Of course Master Harry, Kreacher lives to serve the noble houses of Black and Potter.' replied the elf before popping away.

Claire looked a little confused 'Harry, what did you mean just now?'

'In a couple of months I will be taking up a new position as a teacher at Hogwarts, and I want you to be able to get in touch with either Hermione or myself whenever you need. Kreacher will even take you to us if it is really important. Oliver was a good friend; it's the least I can do.'

Claire didn't really know how to respond to this gesture, Hermione picked up the now empty cups and said 'I'll make us a fresh cup, Harry you come and help.' Her tone suggested that compliance was not optional.

In the kitchen Hermione cast _Muffliato_ and stared angrily at Harry.

'Eh...Did I do something wrong?' he asked with great trepidation.

'You are supposed to be in bed, I left strict instructions for Kreacher to look after you'

'He did, he brought me a cup of tea.'

'That's not what I meant Harry and well you know it.'

'I woke up and called out for you; Kreacher heard me and came to me. I asked him for a cup of tea and to bring me to you once I was ready. He carried out your instructions to the letter.' He admonished before putting his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace.

As he held her he said 'I really have to thank you for everything you've done for me in the last few days. I have been a complete mess.' She rested her head in the crook of his neck and said 'I love you Harry, without everything you have done for me over the years I wouldn't be here. Looking after you was the least I could do.'

They stood together like that for a moment before breaking the embrace to make the promised tea. 'Is there anything I can do or do you just want me for my brute strength and manly prowess?' he playfully asked while drumming his chest like a gorilla.

Hermione had a light bulb moment, she spun on the spot so quickly that she lost her balance and he had to catch her. 'You are a bloody genius Harry!'

'I am the smartest witch of my age, I'll have you know, and all the girls at Hogwarts said so.' He teased; Hermione gave him a deadpan look.

'Right fine, take the fun out of everything, why do I even love you again?' he pouted.

'You love me because I'm the only one that will put up with your crap sense of humour, honestly do you and my dad compare notes or something?'

Ignoring her comments he asked 'so what am I a genius about this time?'

'You're still the Director of the DMLE until the end of the month' she stated matter-of-factly.

'Indeed I am. Do you need me to get all Sheriff Woody on someone?' Harry struck a pose reminiscent of Woody in Toy Story 2.

Hermione giggled 'I think that you could ease a lot of Claire's grief, maybe give her some closure over Ollie's death.'

Harry gave her a confused look while he poured the hot water into the cups 'you've lost me love'

Hermione took a moment to give him the synopsis of what had happened, as predicted Harry took it very personally, however she did not expect the steely eyed Director to stare back at her. Hermione removed the Muffliato charm and they took the tea through to the living room.

Claire was sitting on the couch looking over her wedding album and didn't realise that they had returned. Harry set the cups down and took a seat next to the widow.

'Claire, do you know what I do?' Harry asked

'You're a teacher, right? You said that you're starting at Hogwarts in a few months'

'That's right, but as of right now I hold the second highest office in magical Britain, Hermione holds the third. I am the Director of the department of Magical Law Enforcement or DMLE for short. My position as director is like an amalgamation of the Commissioner of the metropolitan Police, the secretary of state for Defence, Justice, Interior and Home secretary all rolled in to one. Hermione is my deputy.' He let this information settle for a moment before carrying on.

'In the kitchen, Hermione briefly told me your story. I take it that the culprits have never been found?'

'The police said that going on the limited description I could give and the lack of any CCTV in the area, they would have to rely on someone coming forward with information.'

Harry looked at Hermione before saying 'I will find the culprits today, and I can have them prosecuted under Wizarding law within two days.'

Claire sat bolt upright on the couch, her eyes as wide as saucers. 'You're not kidding?'

Harry slowly shook his head. Claire launched herself at Harry 'please tell me you're serious.' She said

'As serious as cancer, they will pay for what they have done.'

Hermione noticed the determined look in his eyes, the old Harry was back. Harry said 'I need to get a copy of the memory from you, if you will consent to sharing it with me.'

Claire looked confused 'Memory, do you mean a description? The police already said that it wasn't very helpful.'

'Kreacher'

Kreacher popped into the living room, 'Yes master Harry?'

'Kreacher, would you mind going to my study and bringing my Pensieve?'

Kreacher popped away and returned after a few seconds 'Thank you Kreacher' Harry bowed his head a little towards the old elf, who said 'Kreacher is pleased to serve Master Harry.' before disappearing with a faint pop.

'This is a device that allows the user to replay memories; it gives the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. Let me show you.' Harry put his wand to his head and concentrated on a memory before drawing a silvery thread from his temple and putting it into the pensieve. 'Hermione you go first to show Claire how it's done, then Claire you go after her and I'll follow after you.' Hermione stood up and came over to the table before immersing her face in the Pensieve and disappearing. 'Your turn Claire, just do what she did and you'll see my memory of Oliver telling me about Quidditch'

Claire took a breath and copied Hermione. Before she knew it she was descending into Harry's memory. Everything looked bright and clear, she saw Hermione standing next to two figures.

'Is this real?' Asked Claire, Hermione stood transfixed staring at the young Harry.

'This was the first time that Oliver explained the game to Me.' said Harry from behind Claire 'It's also the first time that Hermione has seen this memory.'

'Ollie?' Claire said tentatively and reached out her hand to touch the younger version of her late husband's face. 'He looks so young' commented Claire.

The memory of Oliver started to tell the memory of Harry about _"Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."_

##

When the memory was finished the three of them ascended back to reality, Claire sat back on the couch in awe of what she had just experienced. 'So you see Claire, by using your memory of the attack, I can find the people that killed Oliver and get you the justice you've been denied.'

Claire was in a daze. Three years ago her life had ended, today the faintest whisper of hope was echoing through her mind. Could this man really find the people responsible for her Ollie's murder? She sat and stared at the pensieve on the table, she didn't even realise that Hermione had left the room until she heard her name being called.

'Claire!'

'Hmm.'

'I've made you a cup of tea, you looked like you could do with one.' said Hermione.

'Sorry, I was away with the fairies there.'

Harry took his cup from Hermione and said 'believe me when I say that I know that this is a lot to take in. I've lived in the Wizarding world for seventeen years and I still have difficulty believing that these things are possible.' He took a sip from his cup 'I know how hard this is Claire, truly I do and the last thing I want is to cause you anymore pain.'

'How do you know how hard this is, Harry?' Claire asked a little more bitterly than she intended.

'When I was fifteen, I convinced my friends to break into the ministry of magic to rescue my godfather. Tom Riddle had laid a trap to get hold of a prophecy that was made about us before I was born. Hermione here tried to convince me that it was a trap, I didn't listen and they all followed me anyway. She almost died because of my hard headedness. Sirius, My godfather, died that night because he came to my aid. I caused his death and the deaths of countless others-'

Hermione cut him off 'Harry, you know that none of it was your fault.'

Claire could tell that Harry wore his guilt like the albatross round his neck. She knew of the crushing weight of her guilt was nothing compared to the burden the Harry carried and refused to relinquish. She said to the couple 'Can you give me until tomorrow? I'll give you my decision then.'

Harry offered 'Why don't you come to our house tomorrow for lunch, I'll send Kreacher to come for you about one o'clock. Hermione's mum and dad will join us, they are non-magical too.'

Claire nodded her agreement and for the rest of the afternoon they chatted about lighted subjects.

##

The emerald flames of the floo roared into life, Harry's head appeared in the flames.

'Nev, mate is it alright if I come through?'

'Sure, you'll have to following to the greenhouse I've got some re-potting to do; I'll ask Hannah to bring us some coffee.'

Harry's head disappeared moments before he arrived in the fireplace, 'I've never really enjoyed Flooing' he said as he dusted himself down. Neville shook his head and smiled 'I know how you feel, you good to get dirty?'

'I'm here to ask some difficult questions mate, if I need to get my hands dirty then so be it. Actually it kind of affects her as well, would you mind asking her to join us?'

Neville sent his wife a Patronus asking her to join them in the greenhouse and to bring coffee.

Harry and Neville made their way through Longbottom Manor, 'you know Nev, that in all the time that I've known you this is the first time that you've ever invited me to your greenhouses. I feel kind of special.'

'So you should, I don't invite just anyone back here. I was married to Hannah for two years before I asked her, and besides we are god brothers after all.'

Harry looked bemused 'Is that even a thing? It sound made up.'

'Well my mum was your god mother, so that must mean that I'm your god brother and Hannah is your god sister-in-law.' Chuckled Neville

Harry teased his friend 'so this must be my god house and the leaky cauldron is my god pub, right?'

Neville stopped to consider what Harry had said 'I never really thought about it like that before...Hey! Were you taking piss, Potter?'

Harry chuckled and ran off towards the greenhouse 'I'm hiding before you god kill me and god bury me in the god greenhouse'

'Oi Potter, that my husband your god mocking' exclaimed Hanna, who had heard the latter part of the exchange.

Harry was laughing heartily as Neville entered the Greenhouse 'that's not funny.' said Neville with a smile on his face.

'It's a bit funny, sweetheart and to be fair you did walk right into It.' said Hannah.

Once the hilarity had died down Harry grew slightly sombre, 'I got some bad news a few days ago and as a Gryffindor I thought that I should tell you. Oliver Wood died three years ago, Hermione and I met her the other day and she told us. I'm organising a memorial to be held at Hogwarts, Everyone that was at school with him, and that includes you as well Hannah, will be invited to come and pay their respects.'

'Wood's dead?' exclaimed Neville

'He was stabbed twice in the chest, he lost too much blood, there was nothing anyone could do neither Muggle or Magical'

Hannah and Neville both exclaimed 'Fuck!'

'Also last week I met with Narcissa and Draco, I have invited them back to House Black. Narcissa earned her invite because of what she did during in the forest. I invited Draco back because I wanted to know if someone as horrible as he was could really change. I know that this doesn't make much sense but it was something that I had to do, I can't really explain it.'

Neville tensed up at the sound of Draco's name 'that greasy little prick and his goons made my life hell at school, not to mention all the times that he tried to attack you, Hermione and Ron. Why give him a second change to stab you in the back?'

'I gave him enough rope to hang himself with. If he really has changed, and I think that he has, then it's a win –win situation. If he reverts back to type as everyone thinks he will then he will have breached the conditions of his pardon and he will be facing life behind bars.' Harry reached for the coffee that Hannah provided.

Hannah spoke up 'Telling us about Wood, I understand. Telling us about Draco serves no real purpose as it's already happened and really has no effect on either of us. So why, exactly, are you here?'

Harry smiled at her 'well God Sister-in-Law, as Neville here is the Head of House Longbottom and a respected member of the Wizengamot who just happened to not be at the ministry on the day in questions. He knows nothing of what happened during the trial.'

Harry spoke at length about the trial, his address to the court, his panic attacks, and the sentence that was handed out to Molly.

'Well...' began Neville 'I assume that you need my opinion?' Harry Nodded.

'You have to meet her, if anyone gets through to her, it would be you. I will be at the ministry on the day that sentencing is carried out. If you want, I can propose a motion to appeal the sentence. You know that that isn't guaranteed to be passed.'

'I know mate, I would appreciate it if you could do that for me.'

'When you starting at Hogwarts?' asked the Herbology master

'I officially assume the post at the beginning of the month. I have a couple of things to clear up before I finish up with the DMLE.'

##

'What time are we getting your parents at?' Harry asked Hermione

'We have to be at their house in ten minutes'

'They don't mind coming to help Claire feel at ease do they?'

'You heard my mum on the phone, Harry; she's positively buoyant about meeting Claire'

Harry busied himself with prepping the lunch ingredients 'I'm just a little nervous, 'Mione'

'What did you just call me?' asked Hermione

'I called you 'Mione, I don't know why. I used to call you freckles when we were at school-'

Hermione playfully slapped his arm 'when you weren't around to assault me, that is'

He mockingly feigned injury by rubbing the area that she had slapped.

'Are there any other nick names that I should be made aware of before this relationship gets much older?'

'After we rescued Sirius, I considered you to be my Juliet. There was Missy Kitty, Sprinkles which was because of your freckles again. When you walked down the stairs at the Yule Ball I called you _Mi Amore._ I got it from one of Petunia's TV shows that she watched, I figured that no one else in would understand Italian. Parvati gave me a knowing look when she heard me but said nothing.'

'In the interest of fair play I should tell you that there was a long list of monikers drawn up about you. I can neither confirm nor deny that the odd one or three where ones that I came up with.'

'Really?' asked Harry 'as you say, in the interests of fair play, you have to tell me some of them.'

'Is that the time?' said Hermione changing the subject 'we have to go and get my parents.' She made to walk out of the kitchen.

'Not so fast, Granger' Harry took hold of her arm and spun her round to face him before putting his hands round her waist. 'Don't think you are getting out of telling me that easy. If I have to kiss every last one out of you then I will.' And with that he leaned towards her and kissed her. This was the type of kiss that could stop a person's world from turning; it was full of promise and expectation, full of desire and understanding. It stole the very breath from her lungs and made her imagination explode with possibilities.

Their lips parted. At some point Hermione's fingers found their way into Harry's hair of their own accord. They rested their foreheads and tried to regain some composure when they heard someone clearing their throat behind them.

'Er... time was getting on bit so we called Kreacher to come for.' Said Dan

'You looked like you were a little preoccupied, we didn't like to disturb.' smirked Emma.

The couple had the good grace to blush.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter. I own my laptop.

Let me start this off by apologising for the delay in updating this story, I decided to take a little break from writing and then a little got more and more... Hopefully this chapter isn't as hard to read as it was to write.

##

The light slowly began its irresistible retreat as day passed to night. Claire sat alone, with nothing but memories and the bitterness of unfulfilled promises that were cruelly snatched away when Ollie died. Harry didn't mean to break her heart all over again, but that is exactly what he had done. Could he succeed where the police had failed? She did not dare to hope, instead she remembered her wedding day, their first kiss, their first dance and all the happy memories that two people in love could create.

As she sat there in the growing gloom she slowly drifted off to sleep, the kind of heavy sleep that only emotional exhaustion can deliver. Her dream was vivid, too real to be a dream, the colours too rich to have been brought to life by rapid eye movement and delta waves. If she didn't know better she would have said that this dream was a vision.

" _Claire?"_

" _Ollie... is that you?"_

" _You need to start living again sweetheart."_

" _I... I don't want to go on without you, I need you."_

" _I'll always be with you, tell George he's a lucky git and tell Luna that she and Rolf need to check the Thingvellir National Park. She'll know what you mean"_

" _what..who? Ollie...Ollie?"_

'Ollie!' Claire woke with a start and called out her late husband's name. The clock on the wall said that t was just after 4 in the morning. Her neck was sore and her left foot was numb because she fell asleep with all her weight on in. Her dream had left her shaken up, who was George and Luna? She decided to go to bed and wake up at a more respectable time; maybe Harry would be able to give her more answers.

##

'Harry, do I have to get all fatherly and ask what your intentions are towards my daughter?' Dan teased

'Oh stop it you' said Emma, 'we both know that she's been smitten with him since school.'

'MUM!'

'What? It's not as if you haven't told him.'

'Erm... I'm still in the room, ladies' piped up Harry, and Dan just laughed at the look he received from both women.

'Kreacher'

'Yes Mistress?'

'Would you mind getting Claire for us now?' Hermione asked the old elf.

'Kreacher lives to serve' replied the elf before he popped away.

As Kreacher left Harry went back to prepping up the lunch he was making. Kreacher felt rather left out when Harry said that he was going to make the food himself. The food that Kreacher made was always fantastic, but certain types of cuisine were beyond the skills of a British house elf.

For lunch Harry had decided to make them all chicken quesadillas, it was quick, simple and light and not to mention that he had a very nice bottle of No.3 Pinot Noir to go along with lunch. It wasn't long before Kreacher reappeared with Claire in tow.

'Thanks Kreacher.' Harry gave a slight bow to his elf who returned the gesture before disappearing. 'Claire, it's good to see you again'

'Thanks for inviting me, but next time can I drive? I'm not sure I could go that again'

Emma replied 'I felt the same after the first time Hermione Apparated with me, but you get used to it after a while. Hi I'm Emma, by the way' Emma shook Claire's hand and introduced Dan 'and this is my husband Dan'

'You have remarkably good teeth, anyone we know?'

'Dan, stop being a dentist and say hello' scolded Emma

'Sorry!' said Dan 'sometimes I just get carried away. Hi I'm Hermione's Dad. She would have introduced up but I think Harry here fried her brain a little with that kiss just as we arrived'

'DAD!'

'Well you have to admit it was a little intense.' Dan put his hands up in defence as Hermione playfully swatted his arm

Claire smiled at Hermione before saying 'Intense you say? Do tell me more?'

'Well...' said Emma as she took Claire's arm and headed towards the dining room, Dan followed behind.

Hermione turned to Harry 'See, no need for you to be nervous at all.'

'So these names you made mention of...'

'Erm... I think I smell something burning'

'Stop changing the subject, I told you some of the names I came up with for you, you should at least tell me some of them.'

Hermione knew that she had no way out so he gave in.

'One of the more prevalent ones was Emerald Eyes; Greengrass came up with that one. Pudding was Bulstrode which always gave me the fear. I had two that I used so that they gave no indication to anyone my feelings to you; the first one, I came up with after the Troll incident, is in French; _Mon Chevalier Noir_ it means My Dark Knight. The second one is simply Firefly.'

Harry smiled at her furious blushing, 'well _mi amore_ , I am proud to be your firefly.'

Emma shouted 'Are you two coming through or do I have to throw a bucket of cold water over you?'

'Coming mum' Hermione took hold of Harry's hand and said 'she will throw cold water on us if we don't go through.'

##

Claire, Emma and Dan sat on the couch engaged in small talk as the couple came through to the lounge, 'Lunch will be about half an hour, I thought that we could get to know each other a bit better. Hermione and I would like to think that you consider us as friends.'

'I would like that' said Claire 'I was wondering if you could tell if the names George and Luna mean anything to either of you?'

Harry and Hermione looked at each other, slightly wide eyed 'George was one of Ollie's team mates at school. He lost his twin brother ten years ago during the war.' offered Harry

'And does the name Luna ring any bells for you?'

'She is a very dear friend of ours; she's a crypto zoologist with her husband Rolf.' Said Hermione

'Actually you'll get a chance to meet them both' said Harry 'both George and Luna will be at the memorial next week'

'Why do you ask?' enquired Emma.

Claire explained that in her dream Oliver came to her and told her to start living again and mentioned both names. Dan reached over and took hold of her hand and said 'I can't tell you to believe one thing or another, but I know that you can't live your life by dreaming of the past.'

'During my first year at Hogwarts' started Harry 'My father's invisibility cloak was returned to me on my first Christmas. To cut a long story short I stumbled on a thing called the Mirror of Erised, it shows the viewer nothing more than their hearts desire. It was the first time that I saw my parents.' Harry cleared his throat 'every night for about ten days I returned to the disused class room and sat for hours on end just looking at my mum and dad. Looking to see if I could recognise parts of them that looked like me. On the last night Dumbledore came in to the room and found me, he explained to me what the mirror did, the one thing he said to me that has always stuck was " _it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live"_ '

Claire sat with silent tears welling in her eyes, listening to Harry tell a very personal story and seeing how raw it still was for him had a profound effect on her. She looked at Hermione, who was also sitting with tears in her eyes.

'I don't remember my parents; they died when I was only fifteen months old. Going back and seeing them every night was the hardest thing I have ever done. I hated that they died and I didn't. For such a long time I resented that fact, until the night I walked into the forest with the resurrection stone and I got to speak with them...' no one spoke as Harry opened up to them, none had any words that could soothe the rawness that was still evident in everything that he said.

Harry looked over at Claire, the tracks on his tears unashamedly still clearly visible on his face 'I know that the ones that we lover never leave us, Ollie wants you to be happy Claire and I can give that to you.' Harry stood up and said 'Lunch won't be long' then he walked tot eh kitchen while wiping his face.

The Grangers and Claire sat in stunned silence, none of them had heard Harry being so candid before, Claire was rocked to her core that not only did her dead husband visit her in a dream, people actually believed her.

'I'll go and see if Harry needs any help' said Dan as he stood and walked out of the room.

##

Dan stood at the door to the kitchen and watched as Harry busied himself with lunch. A few weeks ago at the dinner he hosted, Harry stood and resolutely against the people that had caused him and Hermione so much heartache only to fall to pieces in private moments later. He had expected to find Harry in a similar state.

'If you are going to stand there you may as well come in and help' said Harry

Slightly startled Dan said 'I thought I was being covert'

'You were; I saw you reflected in the window and almost shit myself. You sire are very, very sneaky.'

'Good to know I can still strike fear into the heart of any boy that has designs on my daughter.'

'Well what can I say, you did catch me red handed.' Harry turned and smiled at him 'So Dan what brings you to my kitchen?'

'To be honest son, I was concerned about you, thought that you might need someone to talk to.'

'Yesterday I stopped fighting my panic attacks and since then I haven't had any. I'm not cured but I'm not letting them dictate my life any more, I'm through feeling helpless.'

Finally Dan could see the person that Hermione had written about all those years ago, he could feel the determination flow from him, Dan stood with a really goofy look on his face.

Harry looked at Dan Granger, taking in the older man fully for the first time. The greying of his chestnut coloured hair at his temples, the laughter lines that encased his eyes and the slight deviation in the symmetry of his nose. He wondered if this was similar to what his own father would have looked like if things had been different.

'erm...Dan?' Harry began nervously.

'Yes?'

'There's something... important I need to ask you?'

'I'm listening.'

'It's about Hermione and me, our relationship really.'

'Should you not ask her this?'

'I...I...I will but I thought I had best ask you first'

'Ask me anything you want Harry.' Dan was hopefully disguising how nervous he was feeling.

'Dan, I was wondering if you-'

'Wondering if he would what? Harry?' interrupted Hermione.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter. I own my laptop.

Let me start this off by apologising for the delay in updating this story, I decided to take a little break from writing and then a little got more and more... Hopefully this chapter isn't as hard to read as it was to write.

##

Hermione stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her arms crossed with a very McGonagall look on her face. 'Well, what did you want to ask MY father? Surely if it involves me and OUR relationship you should be asking me?'

'Erm... Hermione, maybe you should calm down'

'Dad, you stay out of this. I've been lied to for the last ten years by someone that I thought l was in love with, I don't need or want more secrets.'

Harry stood like a rabbit in the headlights, a thousand different thoughts raced through his mind.

'I was...eh... I was going to ask your dad for his advice. I wanted to get you something special as a gift.'

'Really?'

'Really, Really. I will never keep secrets from you without good reason, as God is my witness, Mione.' Harry pleaded.

Hermione visibly relaxed and said to him 'make sure that you remember that, Potter.'

Dan made to leave the kitchen to give the couple their space, before being collared by his daughter 'and where do you think you're going? I was under the impression that you came through to help.'

'I did, I...I...I will.' He smiled uneasily under the withering stare of his formidable daughter.

'See that you do, father dearest. We are all famished.' She elucidated before leaving both men in her wake and heading back to the living room.

##

'You had no intention of asking for my advice on a gift, did you?'

'No I did, but to be honest I don't think that this is the right time to request her hand, is it?' Harry gave Dan an apologetic grin. 'I wanted to ask you how you finally came to terms with all your anxiety. How did you stop having attacks?'

'Skipping over the asking for her hand in marriage thing for the moment, it was Emma or more accurately it was the thought of losing her that made me address my PSTD. I started to see a councillor and eventually I developed ways to counter the anxiety.'

Harry continued to prepare the quesadillas, Dan understood Harry was processing the information he had been given.

'I broke down badly when we went to see Ron, I think him seeing me like that was harder for him to take than losing Hermione.' Harry started to fry the chicken while Dan watched, 'Poppy gave me a potion that knocked me out for two days, when I finally woke up Hermione was gone and for a brief moment I was scared that that I had somehow frightened her off. It was in the shower that I stopped fighting the anxiety and since then I have kind of accepted that it's always going to be a part of me.'

Harry cooked while Dan made the side salad and between them lunch was taking shape nicely. Dan decided that it was time to address the grenade that Harry had thrown.

'Harry, we have known each other for a number of years and both Emma and I have come to think of you as a part of the family. I think I can speak for both of us when I say that we would be honoured to have you as our son-in-law, however I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't give you the standard fatherly warning; treat her well and we'll never have to have crossed words. That being said do you have any idea where and when you are going to propose?'

'Not a clue. I don't want it to be something too ostentatious but I want it to be significant for her.'

'Whatever you do, don't do it in an amusement park like Ron did.'

##

'Lunch will be ready in a few moments' Dan called from the kitchen, so the ladies made their way to the dining room. Harry and Dan brought the food through and put a plate in front of every person and elf, Kreacher made up the sixth member of their party. Once everyone was seated Harry brought through the wine 'I hope that you all enjoy lunch.'

They engaged in small talk, ranging from the most recent dental conference to Harry's plans for the defence class, everyone avoiding the obvious subject.

After lunch Claire excused herself from the table. 'What do have planned for the memorial, Harry? Emma asked.

'Well Emma, I was thinking that we could mingle and discus exactly what it was about Oliver that that we all loved. That should set the tone for the rest of the service.'

Dan said 'whatever you do, make sure that that young woman is involved and given the respect that she deserves.' At this Hermione glared at her father and was ready to tear strips off him when Dan continues 'I know that to the both of you she has become a close friend and someone that you trust but I daresay that not everyone will feel the same given that she is non magical.'

Hermione had the good grace to look suitably contrite, just as she was about to say something Claire walked back into the room and as she took her seat she spoke, 'Harry, I have been thinking and I wanted to ask you a couple of things before I make my decision.'

He nodded at her to continue 'first off can you guarantee that not only will you find these men but you'll bring them to justice?'

'I will personally see to it that justice will be done upon these men. '

'I don't want this memorial to be a circus, Ollie was the love of my life and I will not have his memory tarnished. Can you guarantee that you world will be respectful of his memory and of me?'

Harry sat silently for a moment, gathering his thoughts before answering

'For most of my life I lived under the scrutiny of the public because of something that I had no control over. During my fifth year at school the entire British Wizarding public accused me of being an attention seeking trouble maker, in fact at one time or another most of the school was against me.' Harry looked up at Claire 'The people coming to the memorial want nothing more than to pay their respects to Oliver's memory and to you.'

Tear shimmered in her eyes as she listened to Harry talk, the anguish of having the scorn of the public thrust on his shoulders was evident in his tone. He cared, perhaps a little too much but she was convinced that he was a man of his word and he would make sure that his memory would be honoured.

'I've made my decision, Harry. If you feel that you can bring these men to justice I will trust you to do so, I will also trust you with Ollie's memorial.' At this Harry got up and walked round to the table and embraced Claire while whispering 'I won't let you down.'


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter, Hogwarts and loads of other cool things. I own my laptop.

##

It had been a few days since Claire had agreed for Harry to pursue Oliver's killers, in the subsequent days Harry had been a hive of industry. He spoke with the detectives that had handled the original investigation, the doctors that had battled to keep Oliver alive, and viewed the memory that Claire had given him no less than twenty times. He had gleaned as much information as he could, now was the time to act.

Harry opened his eyes and stood up from the bed, something was different yet very familiar about the room. He turned and saw his sleeping form lying beside the love of his life, he smiled at the sight. He turned and walk out of the room and found Oliver and Fred Weasley talking in his hallway.

'What are you two doing here?'

'We are haunting you, I did want to bring some chains and Ollie wanted to wear a sheet but your mum said no. Sirius and your dad were all for it' replied Fred

'Yeah Remus even suggested that we make "woooo" noises when you got up to go the loo.' Said Oliver

'I just bet he did! So what can I do for you guys?'

For once in his life / death Fred looked unsure of what to say next, so Oliver piped up and came to his rescue. 'I wanted to thank you for everything that you're both doing for Claire; it really means a lot Harry.' Absentmindedly Oliver put his hand out to grab his shoulder and was shocked to find that he could feel Harry.

'I can touch you! How the hell can I touch you?'

'I didn't know that you could'

'I couldn't touch Claire when I visited her.' Oliver looking at his hand said 'This is really weird Harry.'

'You're telling me? Do me a favour, tell my parents for me?'

Fred watched the exchange between his former teammates, he desperately wanted to apologise to Harry for the behaviour of his family up didn't know how to start that conversation. 'Harry, I have no right to ask anything of you, not after everything that my family have done to you and Hermione, but could you tell George something for me?'

Harry smiled at his old friend and nodded, 'could you tell him that the notebook he is looking for is in the bottom drawer of my desk? He hasn't touched it since I died, let him is time to move on.'

'I'll be happy to Fred.'

'We are here to take you on a journey; since you are unselfishly helping someone it has been deemed acceptable that we can assist you in your task. We will take you to the men that killed Mr Rimmer here.' Fred nodded in Oliver's direction.

'Hey! It's Ace Rimmer or old Iron Balls to you, hell's carrot!'

'Yeah, Ok, Iron Balls! Anyway we can take you to them so you can bring them to justice.'

'Excellent, let's go!'

The spirits and Harry's astral form headed to Glasgow and found the men in a rundown tenement in the Parkhead area of the city. One of the men was lying on a mattress on the floor of the room he was in the covers had fallen of his bruised and emaciated body; the years of heavy drug use had not been kind to him. He was the man that held the knife to Claire's throat his name was Charlie Jarvie, the other man was on the couch in another room. The man that killed Oliver was lying in a similar state on the couch, his name was Raymond Kirk. Harry noted the location and the details of the men.

'Guys I need to get back and get this information to the police so that they can pick these bastards up.' Commented Harry as he watched the spectral forms of his friends attempt to punch and kick the sleeping forms of Oliver's killers.

'It's no use, Fred; it looks like we can only touch Harry'

'We Harry will need to get a few punches in on our behalf, got that Harry?' smiled Fred.

Harry shook his head in amusement and departed back to his home.

##

The next morning Harry called an old contact at Strathclyde police and gave her the tip off before he floo'd to Gringotts for an audience with Ragnok to discuss punishments.

When Harry became director of the DMLE he sought out Chairman Ragnok, the _de facto_ leader of the Goblin Nation, to foster better relations between wizard kind and Goblins. The first order of business was to appoint a garrison of Goblins as the official guards of Azkaban as well as executioners of all committed death eaters and murderers.

As Harry walked in through the front door of Grimmauld Place, his mobile rang.

'Hello?'

'Am I speaking with Director Potter?' asked the unfamiliar female Scottish voice on the other side.

'You are. How can I help you?'

'Director, My name is Rose Fitzpatrick; I am the deputy Chief Constable responsible for territorial policing.'

'Good morning Rose, what can I do for you?' Harry tried to keep the annoyance from his voice.

'Director Potter, it has been brought to my attention that you have been looking into a cold case relating to the murder of one Oliver Wood. May I ask what your interest is in this particular case?'

'Deputy Chief Constable Fitzpatrick, I am unable to divulge that information.' Harry paused for effect before continuing 'I appreciate that my interest in this case has not followed accepted protocol when it comes to professional courtesy, however I will say this; as of 0430hrs this morning I assumed full operational control over this case, this has been signed off by both Bute house and Downing street.'

'Director Potter, if that was true-'

Harry cut her off 'Let me be perfectly clear Deputy Chief Constable Fitzpatrick and stop you before you say or do something that will seriously jeopardise your career. The murder of Oliver Wood is now being treated as an international incident. As a matter of professional courtesy I will fax you a copy of the agreement signed by both Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond, giving me full operational control of this case. Now this morning I called in the location of the suspects, can you tell me if they have been picked up?'

'Yes, Director Potter, they have been detained.'

'Excellent! I will arrange for them to be transferred later today, oh and Rose?'

'Yes Director Potter?'

'This call never happened.' Harry didn't wait for a response before hanging up.

##

'Moine?' Harry called as he climbed the stairs two at a time 'Mione!'

Hermione crashed out of the bedroom at the sound of his call, her wand in her hand and her dressing gown billowing behind her 'Harry!' she sounded anguished.

'Mione, I got them, I got the bastards that killed Ollie!'

She stopped in her tracks, dropping her wand and putting her hands to her mouth. Her thoughts raced, how did he manage it when he was with me all night? How will Claire take the news?

'Before you ask how, I think that you should call Claire and tell her that Kreacher will collect her in a couple of minutes. You both need to hear this.' Harry shouted the last parts excitedly as he ran back down the stairs.

Hermione picked up her wand and walked back to the bedroom. Her thoughts were running at a thousand miles an hour. She took a deep breath to steady herself before picking up her mobile and dialling Claire.

The phone rang and a rather groggy female voice came on the line.

'This better be coffee calling'

'Claire, its erm...its Hermione here, It's Harry' her voice was shaking as the enormity of this call hit her hard.

'Hermione, what's wrong?'

'He got them, Claire, he got the bastards...'

'...'

'Claire? Are you alright?'

Unknown to Hermione, Claire was sitting with tears rolling down her face. Almost a full minute passed before Claire let go of the breath that she didn't know she was holding.

'I don't know what to say.' sobbed Claire.

'Harry said that he'll send Kreacher over in a couple of minutes, he wants to tell you personally. Can you be ready in a couple of minutes?'

Claire muttered yes and they said their goodbyes.

Hermione sat for a moment; she had to take stock of how important that call had been to her friend. Hermione knew how Claire felt; she had received a full blast of Harry's "saving people thing" and it leaves you feeling overwhelmed, relieved, confused, and very grateful and the best thing about it is that Harry has no idea just how much it means to the people he helps.

'Harry?' Hermione call out to her boyfriend.

'Yeah?' he replied as he walked back into the bedroom.

'Claire will be ready in a couple of minutes.'

'Great I'll send Kreacher over.' He yawned deeply before calling for his house elf.

'Kreacher?'

'How can Kreacher serve the noble house of Potter?'

Kreacher, would you mind popping over and getting Claire Wood of us? We have something very important to tell her.'

'Kreacher Lives to serve the noble house of Potter' the elf bowed before popping away.

A few moments later Kreacher reappeared with Claire in tow. Before Harry and Hermione could even say hello Claire launched herself at Harry, hugging him as tightly as she could before her resolve gave way, her knees collapsed from under her. The only thing holding her upright was Harry's firm yet gentle grip on her.

Between sobs Hermione heard her saying 'Oh Ollie!'


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter, Hogwarts and loads of other cool things. I own my laptop.

#

Claire wailed like a wounded animal as Harry held her up. The pain of having your heart break was something all too real to Harry; it was a special kind of anguish that consumed you unrelentingly. The night that Sirius died was the same night that he thought that he had lost Hermione and the combined feeling of loss was almost as unbearable as watching what Claire was going through. All he could do was hold her until this wave of desolation burned its self out, not fire as ferocious as this could sustain its self for long.

After a few minutes Claire's sobs began to subside, but Harry would not let her go. Hermione went to the kitchen and made some tea, she had a feeling that this was one of the times that the great British cup of tea would live up to its reputation. When she returned to the living room she found that Harry had managed to get Claire on to the couch and had sat on the chair across from her. Now was Hermione's time to step up to the plate.

'Last night I was visited be Fred Weasley and Oliver. They told me that as I had unselfishly decided to help you, to bring these men to justice, it had been deemed by higher powers that they could assist me in my goal.' Harry picked up his cup of tea and took a sip all the while watching the two women. He continued 'two things happened, the second of which is the reason you are here. Fred, Ollie and I went to their location and saw them. Fred and Ollie both tried to beat them up which was rather funny to see.'

'Why would they do that?' asked Claire

'This brings me to the first of the strange things, they could both touch me.'

'Seriously?' gasped both women.

'Yeah, I have been thinking about it for most of the morning and the only thing that fits as a cause is the Hallows.'

'The what?' Claire asked.

'The Deathly Hallows.' Answered Hermione 'Three of the most powerful magical objects known to the Wizarding world. Think the Ark of the Covenant, the grail and the spear of destiny, which is roughly how significant these three items are and at one point Harry was the master of all of them.'

'Actually...' began Harry 'I am still the master of the three hallows however the only one in my possession is the cloak but since I was the last person to be in control of all three, I am in fact the master of death.'

Claire looked both awestruck and horrified at this and asked 'do you mean to say that you can, you know, bring people back from the dead and kill them just my willing it?'

Harry smiled and shook his head 'I'm neither Jesus nor Darth Vader I'm afraid. To give you the brief story, an extremely long time ago three brothers somehow created three very powerful artefacts. These were the Elder wand, considered to be unbeatable and the most powerful wand in history. The resurrection stone, an object that gives the holder the ability to call the spirit of loved ones back from beyond the grave. And finally the cloak of invisibility, which as its name alludes to, renders the wearer invisible. It cannot be summoned not can it be penetrated by spells, although I've never really tested that out.'

The wand is no longer in my possession; I put it back where it rightfully belongs and I dropped the stone in the forest when I went to face Tom.' At this admission he could feel his anxiety beginning to grow.

'Anyway' interjected Hermione 'you were telling us about finding the two men.'

'ah yes, well very early this morning I put a call in to an old contact in Strathclyde Police advising them that I had received a tip off about two wanted criminals wanted for murder and that as this crime was against now considered an international incident my department would be assuming control. After I spoke with him I made my way to see both Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond and got a signed agreement from both-'

'Hang on!' interrupted Claire 'Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond agreed to something? Are they both magical?'

'Gordon Brown is; he was a Ravenclaw. In fact the injury he got to his eye was by playing Quidditch in his third year against Hufflepuff. Salmond has and always will be nothing more than an oafish, opinionated and grandstanding squib and resents wizard kind with a passion.'

'Anyway after I got the signed paperwork from those two I met with Chairman Ragnok of the Goblin nation to discuss punishments. I have to tell you that Ragnok was very taken by your story Claire, and as we have become very good friends he has deemed this the highest priority and will oversee everything himself.'

Hermione was intrigued 'Why didn't the nation have anything to do with the Weasley trials?'

'I asked him not to get involved, but rest assured, he told me all three of them would have been sentenced to Dragons.'

'Seems fitting, after everything that they did. I honestly can't believe that you were going to give Ginny 5000 Galleons a month after what she did.'

'I had already written up the paperwork weeks before that particular bombshell dropped. Now I think about it, I have no idea what I was doing. She should have been in chains not getting handed the keys to the kingdom.'

Claire interrupted 'so what did chairman Ragnok suggest as punishment?'

Harry took another sip of his tea before he said 'They will face each other in single combat, the victor will then face Ragnok himself in combat. In effect they will be fighting for their lives.'

'Won't their lawyer protest against it?' Claire wondered.

'No, they won't have legal representation.' Interjected Hermione, 'There was a treaty signed about two hundred years ago that states that any non-magical person committing a crime against magical person will be subject to the laws and punishments of the magical government of the day and vice versa.'

'Claire, I realise that this a lot to take in, however Ragnok has personally invited you to attend the fights. This would be a great honour, however he is sensitive to the fact that you are still grieving and has asked me to convey that should you decline his invitation, then he will not take it personally.'

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red jewel and set it on his coffee table, puzzled, Claire watched as he tapped it with is wand and a hologrammatic image of Chairman Ragnok appeared. " _Widow Wood, the Goblin Nation wishes to offer its condolences at the injustice that was done against you. Your husband was a kind and honourable man who treated his account manager with a level of respect not usually seen by wizards save Lord Potter. In a departure to our usual rules and as Mr Wood left no will, I have decreed that the contents of vault 457 – being the family vault of the Nobel house of Wood, shall pass to you as Widow of the last of the line of Wood._

 _Lord Potter has told me of your story, as a mark of remembrance Gringotts will cease trading for three full hours on the day of the upcoming memorial. Widow Wood at your earliest convenience I would like to have an audience with you, Lord Potter and Ms Granger so that the Goblin Nation can honour your husband's memory."_

As the hologram faded, the room fell into silence. Claire looked at the astonished faces of Harry and Hermione and said 'I take it that's not normal then?'

'Claire, that was huge, you have no idea how big a deal that is.' declared Hermione.

'When we stole the dragon from Gringotts they didn't stop trading.' Offered Harry 'Hell I don't think that they ceased trading when Dumbledore died. Three hours is unprecedented and they are giving you the Wood family vault.'

Claire sat mutely on the couch, her head swimming with everything that had happened in the last few weeks. It was like being caught up in a whirlwind, her life had changed and there was absolutely no way back from it. Not that she wanted to go back to the way her life was; eat, sleep, work on a constant cycle of repeat. She reached out and took their hands in each of her own and said 'Thank you so much, both of you, for everything. You've given me back my life.'

Harry sat pensively for a moment and the asked 'Claire would you like to talk with Ollie, one last time?'

#


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter, Hogwarts and loads of other cool things. I own my laptop.

#

Claire looked open mouthed at Harry; to say that she was beginning to feel overwhelmed would be an understatement. Knowing that Harry had not only kept his word but delivered so much more had left her feeling a little envious of Hermione, and a little unworthy of everything that he had given her. She knew that this was a ridiculous way to feel but she couldn't help it, but looking in his eyes she could the uncertainty in him.

Ollie had told her all about Harry, how this young unassuming boy had had great fame thrust upon him, fame that had extracted an insurmountable price from him before he was two years old and demanded more from him every year. He had told her of the battle of Hogwarts, how Tom Riddle demanded Harry face him alone, and how Harry had walked to his death alone in order to stop the killing.

Looking at him now she could see how every death during the war still weighed heavily on him and if he lived for another hundred years, he would still feel responsible. Claire looked at Hermione and she saw the same look in her eyes as she saw in Ollie's whenever he spoke about Harry; it was a mixture of pride and humility. Pride for what the love of her life was doing and that she was able to be part of it, and humble enough to know that without Harry and everything that he had had to suffer, no one of this would have been possible.

Claire had heard from Ollie, the unwavering loyalty that Harry generated in his friends and how it was reciprocated by him. She could feel herself growing evermore loyal to this man, if loyalty was as tangible an emotion as love then this was how she assumed it would feel. She gripped their hands tighter and simply nodded her head in response to Harry's question, as she couldn't trust her voice to betray her emotional state.

Harry beamed at Claire and pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it 'If you'll excuse me I have a couple of things to attend to before the memorial next week.' Harry and Hermione stood, for the briefest of moments they shared an unspoken conversation before she embraced him. He breathed an almost imperceptible whisper in her ear 'I love you Hermione Granger' and then he walked from the room.

##

The majestic Eagle owl flew in through the window of the Burrow and perched its self on the back of a chair. Arthur looked up and saw the personal owl of the Minister for Magic; this could not be good news.

 _"Arthur,_

 _The date of Molly's sentencing will next Tuesday. We have arranged an emergency session of the Wizengamot for that morning as Lord Longbottom has lodged a motion to have the proposed sentence commuted to something less severe. As this is a matter of great importance to you and your family I have given permission for you all to be in attendance. I wish I had better new to share with you, my old friend._

 _Kingsley."_

Arthur new that this day would come; he had lived in the hope that there would be something that could be done but he knew that Molly had to answer for her actions and no matter what the outcome he would not hold it against Harry or Hermione.

He got up from his chair and floo called Shell cottage, Fleur said that she would get Bill bring the rest of the family. He got up from the fire place and walked to the kitchen, from the corner of his eye he noticed the family clock for the first time in a long while. For the first time since they got the clock the hand the bore the likeness of Molly was currently pointing at "Mortal Peril"; he took the clock of the mantle and threw it against the wall with a bellow of rage fuelling his throw. As the clock impacted the wall Bill walked out of the fireplace closely followed by the rest of his children.

'Are you alright dad?' asked Bill with a note of concern in his voice.

'I've always hatred that damn clock, your mother bought it when her brothers died and said it would give us peace of mind. The bloody thing has been nothing but a pain.' He looked at Ginny and said 'did you know that the entire time that you were writing in that diary your hand never moved from "School" you'd think that it would have hinted that you were in danger.'

'Dad, Fleur said that you had a letter from the minister.' Percy as always wanted to get right down to business.

Arthur took the folder piece of parchment from his pocket and handed to his son before heading to the kitchen. Percy unfolded the parchment and read it aloud so that everyone could hear.

'Why is Neville asking for her sentence to be commuted?' enquired Charlie, it was the question that they all wanted to ask but couldn't summon the courage to be the first.

'You've been in Romania with those Dragons for too long Charlie' George playfully nudged his older brother 'Harry asked him to intervene on his behalf as a respected member of the Wizenagamot.'

His siblings all turned their head in unison and looked incredulously at him.

'What? You think that because I own a joke shop I don't know things? You wound me!' George exclaimed in mock outrage.

Arthur called from the kitchen 'that was exactly my thinking, even after everything that has happened to him by members of this family, he is still trying to doing what he thinks is right.'

'Dad, have you had a chance to speak with Harry since the trial?' asked Ginny

'No, I've stayed out of his way, why do you ask?'

'He's been in a really bad way Dad, Hermione said he's been having really bad panic attacks. They came to visit me at the cottage, he told me that he had invited Draco and Narcissa back to the Black family and then he had a massive attack and just about collapsed.'

'What was that you said about the Malfoy's?' asked George

Ginny told them all about the visit, Harry's admission about the Malfoy's and how Hermione had helped him. She then told them that she had taken a long hard look at her life and decided that she couldn't take his money and will be moving out of the cottage.

Arthur couldn't help feel a little proud of his daughter's maturity, she had certainly taken the second chance she had been given and was trying to change.

##

Harry Apparated to Dorset, he had a meeting with Garrick Deverill and Dennis Kneen, the current manager and owner of Puddlemere united. He had a feeling that this would not be a pleasant meeting. He walked through the door and stood in the foyer, he had discovered many years ago that if he stood still anywhere for long enough then someone would appear to speak with him.

'Can I help you, sir?'

Harry turned and before he could say anything the voice said 'Stone the crows, you're Harry Potter!'

'Last time I checked. I'm-'

'The name's Willkie Abbot, I'm the kit man round her. I tell you, what I wouldn't give to put your name on the back of one of our shirts.'

'I'm here you see-'Harry tried again but to no avail.

'I saw you play against Slytherin in your first game. I could see then that you were going to be someone to watch, Mr Potter. Not even Krum was as natural a flyer as you were.'

Being compared to Krum took him by surprise, 'Mr Abbott, Krum was an outstanding flyer, I was just happy to be in the team.'

'Yeah but you was fearless, Mr Potter, on a broom there weren't nothing you couldn't do. I would bet a penny to a pinch of snuff that even now there wouldn't a seeker in the league that could match you.'

Harry had never seen Quidditch as anything more than a hobby that could help him relieve stress and give him the freedom from being the boy-who-lived, even if it was only for a while.

'Mr Abbott, it has been a pleasure speaking with you but I have a meeting with Mr Deverill and Mr Kneen.'

'Well I'll take you to them lad, the boys down the Thimble won't believe that I was talking to THE Harry Potter...heehaw.'

'Tell you what Mr Abbott, you tell them from me to keep an eye of the Prophet next Tuesday. There will be a big story that will concern Puddlemere; I can't say too much just now you understand.' At this Harry tapped the side of his nose, the universal sign that this was a big secret.

Willkie Abbott walked away after showing Harry into the manager's office, his excitement was bubbling away to almost boiling point.

'Harry, what can Puddlemere do for you?' asked Dennis Kneen whilst shaking the younger man's hand.

'Firstly thanks for seeing me at such short notice; I appreciate how busy you are. What I have to tell you is not good news I'm afraid.'

Garrick sat up a little straighter 'Director Potter, has something happened?'

'I'm not here in my official capacity today, in fact what I'm here to tell you, is known only to a select few.' Both men looked at each other their interests were peaked.

'It pains me to have to inform you that Oliver Wood has died.'

The news caught both men completed by surprise. Their eyes became wide with the shock of Harry's statement and they both paled significantly.

'Three years ago Oliver was in Glasgow with his wife of 18 months and he was set upon by two muggles. In the ensuing attack he was stabbed twice in the chest, he was taken to the hospital and place on life support. One of his Doctors was magical and advised his wife that while his magical core was trying to repair the damage, he had lost too much blood. He was on life support for three days before the decision was made to let him go. Needless to say Claire, His wife was devastated.'

He let the news sink in before he carried on, 'next Monday, we will be holding a memorial for Oliver at Hogwarts. Everyone that was in school with him will be there to pay their respects to his memory and to pay their respects to his wife. I felt that would be fitting that his club be in attendance.'

Dennis was the first to speak 'we will be there; the entire team will be there to show solidarity with his widow. He was a fine young man, the lads will be devastated when they hear, and I'll tell you that for nought.'

Garrick stood and said 'I'm sorry...' before rushing from his office.

'Oliver was best man at Garrick's wedding to Bev. He'll be in bits. Gimmie a couple of minutes and I'll go see to him.' Dennis took his leave and left Harry to his own devices. While waiting for Dennis and Garrick to come back he had a look round the office. There were photos of all the players, both past and present. Cards from player's children, letters from fans and a few mementoes from Garrick's playing days. Pinned to the wall behind his desk was a thank you card, it was a little worse for wear.

Inside it read _"Gar,_

 _I finally did it, I asked her and she said yes! Can you believe it? I'm getting married. I cannot thank you enough for the kick up the arse you gave me, I really needed it._

 _You and Bev are of course first on the invite list! Just wait till you meet her!_

 _Cheers Ollie"_

Harry put the card back; he felt that he was intruding on something very personal. He sat back and waited for Dennis and Garrick to return and after a few moments they appeared.

'I'm really sorry for storming out like that Harry; it was very rude of me.'

'Listen, Garrick you have nothing to apologise for, I would have done the same.'

'Don't you worry about the memorial, as Dennis said; we will be there.'

'Can I ask one favour? Claire has felt abandoned by the Magical world and I gave her my word that this was to be only about honouring Oliver's Memory and paying respects to her. Anyone that flouts this will answer directly to me. Can you make sure that your boys know this?'

'Consider it done Harry. Anyone of them steps out of line and I'll make sure that they never play another game again.'

Harry shook hands with both men again before leaving the stadium, he wanted to be with his own thoughts for a while so he Apparated to the forest of Dean and sat on a rock near the stream. Listening to the sound of the water gurgle as it passed over the rock was soothing to his weary mind. He slowed his breathing and slowly began to relax. It had been a long day and it wasn't even lunch time yet.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter, Hogwarts and loads of other cool things. I own my laptop.

#

The remaining Weasley's sat in silence around the kitchen table in stunned silence; Arthur positively glowed with pride at the maturity of his daughter. Percy sat heavily back in his chair shaking his head, wondering at the stupidity of his sister in giving away all that money. Bill and Charlie couldn't believe who perceptive George had been.

'Let me get this straight, Ginny' the disbelief dripping from every syllable Percy spoke, 'Not only did Potter give you a cottage at the other side of the Village, he gave you a house elf and an exceptionally generous stipend. Not only that but he stipulated that this was for twenty years, and you refused it?'

'I couldn't take his money, Percy, not after everything that I, Ron, and Mum had done to him and Hermione. It felt wrong.'

'To hell with wrong, Ginny, after ten years of marriage – love potion or not – you are entitled to it. You'll just have to write to him and say that you've changed your mind.'

'No, I don't think so.' Ginny folded her arms and stared at her snooty brother indignantly.

'No? What do you mean no?'

'I mean no Percy; you know the two letter word that means the opposite of yes. You should be well aware of its meaning as I understand Audrey tells you NO on a regular basis.'

Percy didn't respond he looked both guilty and snooty at the same time.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Percy asked 'What did you get from the annulment then?'

'I grew up Percy; I kept my dignity and was given a second chance at being Harry's friend, after what I did to him anything other than being in a prison cell is one hell of a bonus.' the rest of her siblings we now paying rapt attention to her every word.

'I get to sit here with my family, knowing that you would all go out of your way to protect me and I can't help feeling ashamed of myself.' Her voice grew heavy with emotion as she spoke 'I knew even before I gave him the love potion that it was wrong but I couldn't help myself. I wanted my piece of happiness.' As she spoke her shoulders sagged visibly as the weight of her duplicity finally came to rest.

'In all the time that I have known Harry, he has never asked for anything for himself. He saved people he barely knew just because it was the right thing to do. He took everything that our world threw at him and not once did he crumble under the weight of our expectation or ridicule, and through it, all only Hermione was there by his side. She was doing things that I couldn't dream of doing, hell she was even willing to go into the forest with him, and for ten years Ron, mum and I kept them apart.'

Finally, Ginny looked at her snooty brother, her eyes no longer bright and vivacious and said 'So no, Percy, I'm not entitled to anything; I don't even deserve to breathe the same air as him.'

Ginny got up from the table and walked out of the house, she had no clear goal in mind but she needed to be alone. She took a deep breath and stared at the sky. Almost as though she was on autopilot, she made her way to the shed with the brooms and dug out an old Cleansweep 7 and made for the sky. It would be several hours before she came back down to earth.

##

Since Harry had left them, Garrick and Dennis had drunk half a bottle of Rum in almost absolute silence. Both men had fond memories of Oliver Wood, both as a player and as a friend. Garrick was the first to speak 'You know it was my dad that signed Ollie, right out of Hogwarts. He said that he'd never seen a keeper so talented. If he was still with us today it would break his heart to hear about what happened to him and his poor wife.'

'The club needs to do something to honour him, something significant you know?'

Garrick picked up the bottle and poured two more large glasses 'what do you have in mind?'

Dennis picked up his full glass and before emptying it in one go said 'something like those Muggle football teams do.'

'You mean like name a stand after him, kind of thing?' asked Garrick

'Yeah,-' In midsentence Dennis burped and had a flash of inspiration 'I've got it. Go get Willkie and I'll tell you what we are gonna do.'

##

Deep in the caverns of Gringotts, two very scared Muggles were led into an arena by four extremely freighting creatures that could only live in the mind of a very deranged person. Charlie Jarvie and Raymond Kirk had seen many strange things in their lives. Usually, they were the hallucinations brought on by the copious amounts of drugs that were swimming about in their bloodstream. This was different, this was worse than any hallucination or nightmare. This was real.

Chairman Ragnok stood and raised his hands, causing the roaring crowd to fall silent 'Charles Andrew Jarvie, Raymond Anthony Kirk.' He bellowed out their names 'You have been found guilty of crimes against friends of the Goblin Nation. You have been sentenced to death by combat. In this hallowed arena, you will fight until one of you is left standing, the victor will face me in single combat. Should you refuse to fight; you will be taken from this place and fed to one of our dragons.'

The smile on Ragnoks face did nothing to alleviate their fears. Raymond Kirk put his hand in the air; this act caused riotous laughter to break out within the assembled crowd.

In his amusement Ragnok held up his hands again to silence the crowd 'Brothers, let us hear what the guilty have to say.'

'Here pal, yous huv got the rang guys. We've no done nothin' so we huv nae'

'aye, that's right yer goblinness, we're pure innocent like an that.' chipped in Charlie.

Raymond continued 'we wis sleepin, then the next thing we know, these clowns wur draggin' us in here. Whits 'at aw aboot? Wheres oor lawyer?'

'I know not which tongue you speak, Human. Your words are but a jumble to my ears. You are here because you murdered someone important to a friend of the Goblin nation and reparations have been demanded.' Ragnok replied to the condemned 'Guards, give each of them a weapon'

One of the guards threw a single sword on the ground ten feet in front the men, which caused Raymond to complain to Ragnok 'Hawl mate! How comes we only get the wan sword?'

Ragnok grinned menacingly 'whoever gets the sword has a chance of getting out of the arena alive.'

Both men paled, this was not some joke to scare them, this was the culmination of every bad choice they had ever made coming back to bite them on the arse.

Ragnok held his hands in the air, the crowd knowing what was to come next held its collective breath, he paused for a moment before bellowing 'FIGHT!'

##

Harry sat next to the river for a couple of hours, completely unaware of the events happening at the Burrow and deep below Gringotts. It would be later in the day before Ragnok made contact with him. He stood up, his joints stiff from sitting in one place for so long. As he stretched he heard the sound of his tendons and ligament popping, it had been a long morning so far and now he had to head to Hogwarts. He needed to finalise the details of the memorial before heading to Gringotts.

He turned on his heal and arrived a moment later on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, the village was empty of students as it was mid-morning on a school day, he cast his Patronus and sent it off to Headmistress McGonagall letting her know that he was head up to see her after visiting Hagrid.

It had been too long since he had seen his old friend and he wanted to find the Resurrection Stone. As he walked up through the main gate, he felt the wards to the castle as he passed through them. Very soon this would be his home once again and while it scared him, it also filled him with a sense of starting over. As soon as he set eyes on the castle he knew that coming back here was the right thing to do.

##


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter, Hogwarts and loads of other cool things. I own my laptop.

Some of you might recognise the tent scene, I had originally written that as a one-shot. I like the way Stephen King makes all his stories link in one way or another and for the benefit of this story, I thought that I would do something similar, if on a much smaller scale.

##

'Hello 'arry' Hagrid's greeting caught Harry by surprise.

'Hey Hagrid, how have you been?'

'I can't complain, not as young as I used to be. You know young Charlie Weasley is starting in September? E's gonna be takin' the magical creatures class, I'm going back to groundskeeper.'

'You know that I'm starting here in September too, don't you? I'm the new defence professor.'

Hagrid boomed 'About bloody time an all! The things that you could teach these young uns. So what can I do for you 'arry?'

'it's an odd request and I hope that it's not too painful for you'

Hagrid considered Harry for a few seconds before cautiously saying 'if you're asking me, 'arry, then it can't be that dangerous, now can it?'

'I need to you take me to the site where I met Tom Riddle, can you take me there?'

'No, 'arry. What do you want to be going to that accursed place for? There be bad memories there for me 'arry.'

Harry knew all too well how bad those memories where he had both felt and seen the killing curse hit him, Hagrid watched him fall and with him, for a time, the hopes of the world fell. Harry could still hear the pained sobs of his first friend as he carried Harry's "dead body" back to the school.

'Rubeus, I know how hard it was for you, old friend. I have to find something I lost there and you know this forest better than anyone.'

'taint nothing there 'arry. It's been picked clean by souvenir hunters. Say what are you looking to find?

'Something that Dumbledore gave me; I dropped it not long before I walked into that clearing. I need it to help someone. She really needs it more than I do.'

Hagrid looked down at his enormous feet for a while, mulling over what Harry was asking. Eventually, he got to his feet and said 'It wouldn't have something to do with this shindig that's happening next week, would it?'

'Its got everything to do with it. Has Minerva told you anything about it?

'Not really 'arry, just that you are involved and I should get the great hall prepared.'

The duo talked as they walked, getting deeper into the forest.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Harry saw the clearing in the distance. This was the place.

'Hagrid.'

'Arry? You alright?'

'I..I'm not sure. Would you give me a few minutes?'

'I'll be over by the clearing 'arry if you need me just call.' Hagrid walked away, pulling a tablecloth sized hankie from his pocket.

Harry watched as his first friend walked into the distance.

It had been ten years since the night he chose to walk alone into the forest. He stood there looking at the clearing in the distance and imagined the sight of him facing down Tom, unarmed and willing to die, willing to put the lives of his friends and loved ones before his own, to make that ultimate sacrifice that his mother had made for him all those years ago. He had died that night, his chest still bore the scar from being hit by the killing curse, but he wasn't sure if coming back was entirely the right thing to do.

Ending Tom Riddle's tyrannical rule was a very good reason for coming back and hopefully finding love with the person that had always had his heart, but he had never had to the courage to make any approach to her romantically. He who had faced down giant snakes and dragons, who had fought the deadliest dark lord since Grindelwald to a standstill seven times, but he couldn't ask the girl of his dreams out. He pondered on this and his mind drifted back the hunt and the one night that everything almost changed, he closed his eyes and thought back to the tent...

###

Harry lay on his bunk thinking on his past challenges while he waited for sleep to take him, in the other room Hermione sobbed. Her heart was in pieces because of the thoughtless actions of their friend once again, seven years ago was the incident with the troll in the girls bathroom and now Ron, bemoaning the lack of food and the lack of progress in their hunt to end Voldemort once and for all, has said some unforgivable things and then left.

There had been countless times over the years that Ron's insensitive nature had caused friction between the friends but this time, this time he had gone too far. He heard the click of the radio being turned on and listened as Hermione attempted to find a station, garbled voices filled the air followed by static and sniffs.

Harry got up and walked through to the living room part of the tent. Putting his hand on her shoulder 'let me' he offered before turning the dial until music filled the tent. He took the seat across from Hermione and listened for a while; she was curled in a ball on the couch with silent tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Out of all the times he had been injured at Hogwarts, either through playing Quidditch or their escapades, nothing hurt him as much as seeing his friend broken like this. It was almost impossible to bear seeing her petrified during their second year; at least there was a cure for that. This was something that he had never had to endure before and each time he saw a fresh tear roll down her cheek, his heart broke a little more.

He stood up and walked to the radio and found another station, the opening bars to a song floated through the tent. The haunting sound of the piano stirred something in him. He turned to his heartbroken friend and held out his hand as the singer started " _I know it's late / I know you're weary / I know your plans don't include me"_ something about the song seemed right, she looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him to ease her suffering.

 _"Still here we are / both of us lonely / longing for shelter from all that we see"_ she took his hand and stood to face him, the boy who has saved her life on countless occasions; the one person that gave everything and took nothing in return, whose own heart had been shattered through the loss of his parents and the loss of Sirius. Here he was offering to somehow put her back together again. He reached for the chain of the Horcrux that hung around her neck, amplifying her feelings of loss.

 _"Why should we worry / no one will care, girl, / look at the stars so far away / we've got tonight / who needs tomorrow? / we've got tonight babe / why don't you stay?"_ Harry took Hermione in his arms and swayed with the music. They danced slowly, each instinctively knowing that the other needed the strength offered in order to heal some of the pain they were feeling.

As they slowly spun in time with the music; all thoughts of the past were forgotten, all plans for the future paused, only this moment was important to both of them. The lyrics hauntingly echoed how both Hermione and Harry were feeling. _"Deep in my soul / I've been so lonely / all of my hopes fading away / I've longed for love like everyone else does / I know I'll keep searching/ even after today"_.

Hermione put her head on his shoulder, tears giving way to a soft, hopeful smile. Harry rested his head against hers, finding the strength, the unwavering support and unquestioning belief that only she could give him. Above them, the stars shone in the autumn sky just a little bit brighter for the two lonely souls that danced in that tent.

All too soon the final bars of the song faded out yet they were reluctant to break their embrace. Ron was gone, the future was bleak but in this perfect moment something nothing else was as important to them as the person they were holding.

###

Harry opened his eyes and took a deep breath; it had been so long since he had thought of that night and how things might have turned out differently. At that moment he made two promises with himself. The first would be that he would spend would spend the rest of his life with Hermione or he would spend the rest of his life regretting it. The second was that as soon as he was finished at the school he was going to propose. He had waited long enough; he had given enough, now it was time that he took something for himself.

He took off his glasses and wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes; he pulled out his wand and silently cast the summoning spell on the stone. The stone shot towards his hand, it felt slightly warm to the touch but also very comfortable. Almost like an old friend. He looked down at the stone a smiled before turning it thrice in hand.

#


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: I am not J.K Rowling, Harry Potter is not mine. I have a Laptop and an over active imagination.

Thanks for sticking with this story, It is drawing closer to the end so please bear with, please feel free to review.

##

'Harry, why have you summoned me here?'

'Hello Aunt Petunia, do you know where we are?'

The spirit of his aunt looked around the clearing then responded 'we are in a forest, why did you bring me to a forest?'

Smiling Harry explained 'I brought to the forbidden forest, it was ten years ago in May just past that I died, well I was supposed to die.'

'I'm not sure if I follow you Harry.' his aunt sounded confused.

'The wizard that killed my mum and dad, Tom Riddle, he demanded that I face him alone in this forest to stop the bloodshed. I walked out to sacrifice myself so that my family and friends would be safe. It didn't work, and I killed him not long afterwards, but enough of the history lesson. Dudley gave me the letters that you and mum wrote to each other before she was killed. I know that you were starting to reconnect.'

'Lily was everything to me before she got her letter, I resented the fact that she was taken away from me, first by that prince boy, then the school and finally I resented you because she died protecting you.' as the spirit of his aunt spoke a spectral tear formed at the corner of her eye.

'I suppose you've called me here to gloat?' she enquired

'No, I wanted to show you Hogwarts. I know that you wrote to Dumbledore asking him to let you come here. I just felt that you should get to see a small part of the world that my mum fell in love with.'

Harry began to walk towards the castle; Hagrid saw him and followed behind at a respectable distance. They walked in silence until they got to the edge of the forest before Harry stopped and said to his aunt 'there is one more thing aunt Petunia.'

Harry closed his eyes and called forward another spirit.

'Tuney, is that you?'

Petunia turned in shock to see the spirit of her long-dead sister standing before her 'Lily!'

'Mum, do you want to show aunt Petunia round Hogwarts with me?' Harry smiled at his mum.

'I always wanted to bring her here, Albus refused. He said that the governors would never allow a muggle to visit the school.' Lily turned towards her sister 'I've missed you Tuney.'

'How can you say that, Lily?' Petunia asked 'How can you miss me after how Vernon and I treated Harry?'

'It was hard to watch my baby being neglected, there were the times I really wanted to haunt you so badly then there were other times when Vernon wasn't around I watched you soothing him back to sleep when he was still small, or nursing him when he was ill. I could tell in those moments that you cared for him.'

Harry watched the exchange between his mother and his aunt; he couldn't remember the moments his mum had mentioned. Remembering how Oliver had touched him, he walked over to his mum and put his hand on her shoulder.

'Harry!' Lily spun round to face her son with a look of shock and bewilderment in her eyes 'how –'

'I'm the master of death because I was the last person to have all three of the Hallows in my control I am able to summon spirits and I just found out that I can touch them too.'

'Lily? Is that you?' Hagrid came charging over to the edge of the forest 'is that really you?'

'Hagrid, you can see me?'

'You can see my mum?' Harry took hold of Petunia's hand to test a theory 'Hagrid can you see my aunt as well?'

'I can now, 'ere Harry this isn't some dark magic you are usin' is it?'

Harry beamed at his large friend 'no Hagrid, there is nothing dark about this magic. In fact just to put it to the test, mum, Aunt Petunia I'm going to let go of your hand for a second.'

Harry let go of their hands, Hagrid stepped backwards in shock before spinning round 'where...where did they go Harry?'

Harry took hold of the hands of the spirits again and they reappeared to Hagrid.

'Hagrid, did you ever hear the tale of the three brothers?'

Hagrid was still reeling from seeing dead people vanishing and reappearing replied 'that old nursery story, course I've heard it.'

'Well it's true, I controlled all three of the Hallows and now I am the master of death, that's why you can see my mum and aunt.'

'Harry, can I... can I still see the school?' Petunia asked her nephew.

'Let's go surprise the headmistress.' Harry smiled at his aunt.

##

Minerva sat in her office shuffling some papers about; it had been about an hour since Harry's Patronus had delivered his message and the wards had told her that he was on the grounds. Perhaps Hagrid's rock cakes were keeping him occupied.

She picked up the suggested reading lists that the professors had submitted when one of the portraits advised her that Harry and guests were approaching the door. 'Guests?' she said out loud.

Harry let go of his mum and aunts hands before knocking on the door,

'Come in Harry.' Minerva called out.

Harry walked in and caught the puzzled look on his new bosses face. 'Is something the matter, headmistress?'

'I was informed that you had guests, it appears they were mistaken.' She retorted in broad Scottish drawl

'Actually Minerva, I have some people I want to introduce to you if you will indulge me.'

The headmistress nodded her approval, when Harry didn't walk out of her office she was surprised.

When he held out his hands on either side of him, she was confused.

When Lily Potter and Petunia Dursley appeared by his side, the room went black as she fainted.

'Headmistress?' Harry called softly to his boss after he cast the reviving spell, 'Minerva, are you ok?'

Minerva tentatively looked around her office before answering him, seeing no one else nearby she answered 'I'm sorry Harry it appears that I have been working too hard. I could swear that I saw your mum and aunt standing beside you.'

Harry smiled and said 'that would be because you did, Minerva. I can summon the spirits of the dead and because I am the master of death –'he saw the confusion on her face 'it's a long story best saved for another time. I can touch the spirits of the dead and when I do this they become visible to everyone.' Harry held out his hands again and his mum and aunt appeared once again.

'Lily? Can you ever forgive me for not looking after for your boy?'

'Minne, that is all in the past. The fact that Harry is alive and here is more important than the advice that Albus never took. We have all moved on from it. We can only stay for a little while longer, perhaps next time Harry can summon Elphinstone. It's been twenty-three years since he crossed over.'

Minerva sat motionlessly; this was not how she expected Harry's visit to go. She put her trembling hand to her mouth and simply nodded in acceptance.

'Harry dear, I think I would like to give tuney a hug before she goes, would that be ok?'

Harry nodded 'I hope that you enjoyed seeing part of the school aunt Petunia.'

'Thank you for giving me the opportunity Harry.'

As Harry had to hold their hand, his mum and aunt could only give each other a one-armed embrace. It had been the first time since just before Harry was born that the sister had held each other. Minerva sat watching in hope that Harry could do the same for her.

After a moment Petunia looked at Harry and said 'It's time for me to go back now, perhaps one day you'll let me see Dudley again?'

'I'm sure that he would like that very much.' Replied Harry as his aunt let go of his hand and her spirit returned to the great beyond.

'Mum.' was all Harry could say before his resolve completely evaporated. His only memories of his mum were of the night was she died and the times when he was in grave danger. The fact that he could see and touch his mother for the first time since before he could remember was overwhelming his emotions. Lily held her son for the first time since that fateful night twenty-seven years ago. Her brave, Nobel hearted son who carried the weight of the entire British Wizarding world on his shoulders, wept as she held him in her arms.

In the ten years that Minerva had been headmistress of the school, not one day had passed without there being constant chatter from the portraits of the former heads. As she sat in her office watching the moving embrace between a mother and her son she realised that all the portraits had been vacated. Clearly, the paintings realised that this was a rare moment and should be considered a private one. After a few moments, Harry sat up and took off his glasses to wipe the tears from his face, all the while maintaining some contact with his mum.

'Minerva, I... erm, I'm sorry that you had to see that. I couldn't-'

'Harry, don't apologise. After everything that you have had to endure over the years, I think that a few tears can be overlooked.'

'Minnie, I have to go back soon but I wanted to thank you for everything that you did for my son.'

The headmistress smiled warmly at her former pupil 'it was my pleasure; he is a credit to you both. While this is certainly an unprecedented situation, I have come to expect the impossible for Harry over the years. If you will excuse me, I will give you a few final moments of privacy before you go.' Minerva stood up from her chair; almost entirely absentmindedly as she walked past Lily she put her hand on the spirit's shoulder and stopped in her tracks.

'Oh sweet Merlin, I can touch you!' she gasped and quickly withdraw her shaking hand.

'I ... oh my goodness I think I need something stronger than tea. Lily, Harry I don't know what came over me.' and with that, she quickly left the room.

##

'I know that you don't have much time, mum but I wanted to ask you what I should do about Molly.'

'Molly Prewett has always been a dictatorial, domineering sticky beak. She was always trying to force her opinions on everyone about one thing or another. She never liked me and was forever trying to match make your father with someone with "proper magical heritage" always careful to never mention "pure blood" you know I wouldn't have been surprised if you told me that she knew that Peter was living at the Burrow.' Lily sighed 'Son, you do what you think is best. Only you and Hermione can really decide how things go. I really want to meet her.'

'You will mum, I promise you and Dad.'

'Sweetheart, I have to go now but before I do, go to the Potter family Vault and you will find a cabinet, the second drawer down on the left you will find the ring that the head of the family has always given to his wife to be when he asks for her hand. Your Gran wore it before me and in fact, every wife of the head of the family has worn it for generations, I would be honoured if you gave it to her.'

'Thank you, mum.' Harry put his arms around her mother and hugged her as hard as he dared before she said 'mother loves you, Harry' with that she returned to the land beyond the veil.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: I am not J.K Rowling, Harry Potter is not mine. I have a Laptop and an over active imagination.

This is the penultimate chapter; everything comes to a head at during the final instalment. I really appreciate that a number of you have taken the time to read my little work of fiction and have liked it. Please feel free to review.

##

Minerva walked aimlessly through the school, her mind racing with unthinkable thoughts about what she had just witnessed and experienced. Even by the usually high standards of impossibility attributed to Harry Potter, this was something else. She had no definite destination in mind so she sat on the stairs of the grand staircase; it was here that her oldest friend and colleague found her.

Poppy stood and looked at the headmistress and said 'If I didn't know better, Minerva, I would say that you were suffering from a serious shock.'

'Poppy, I need you to get me something to drink, something extremely alcoholic and strong.'

Poppy looked down at her friend, 'surely it can't be that bad?'

'If I was to tell you that Harry Potter has just done something in my office that should be impossible, what would you say?'

'I'd say that it was par for the course where he's concerned. Why what amazing feat has boy wonder done this time?'

'Oh nothing much, just brought his dead aunt and mother back into existence, if that wasn't enough Lily offered to have him bring back Elphinstone some time. Oh and she wasn't a ghost, I touched her with my own hand Poppy, she was as solid as you are.'

Poppy sat down on the step as Minerva said 'Par for the course you say?'

'Is she still in your office?' enquired the Medi-witch.

'No I think that she has gone back to where ever she was. I left them there, it felt wrong to intrude on something so ...' Minerva's words trailed off, the English language didn't seem to have the appropriate words to describe something so precious so she opted for her mother tongue 'Bòidheach'

'I have a very fine thirty-year-old Cragganmore in my quarters, why don't you compose yourself and go back to Harry. I'll join you in a couple of minutes with three glasses.' Poppy stood and helped her older friend to her feet before she headed to his quarters.

##

Harry sat alone in the office, getting to hold his mother was both the greatest and worst thing that he had ever done. It was all he dreamed it would be and now that he had finally experienced it he knew that his life would forever be that little bit bleaker because it was gone. He thought back to how things had been over the last few weeks; from trying to kill himself to finally being with the love of his life and getting to hold his mum.

The years since the end of the war had taken a toll on him, while only twenty-eight years old, his thick black hair had a smattering of grey here and there. He thought back to the many times he had been in this office before the war and during the opening salvos of the beginning of the second war. He looked at the various frames; he had never seen them this empty before.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the Pensive he had used to view the memories that Snape had given him. The image of Dumbledore telling Snape that Harry had to die at the right moment was one that he hadn't thought about for many a year, even now after all that he had lived through he still felt a little betrayed by this. In the beginning, he fought because it was the right thing to do, then he fought because it was expected of him and finally he fought because he was the only one that could. Perhaps he didn't need to keep fighting anymore; perhaps it really was time for him to fade away into the background and build a better world by moulding the minds of future generations. He gave a wry smile at that thought; it was a very Hermione thing to think, she was definitely having an effect on him.

A light knock on the office door drew him out of his musings 'er...Come in?' he offered with uncertainty.

'Harry, I didn't want to intrude.' the headmistress explained as she entered.

'You do realise that this is _your_ office, don't you?'

'Mr Potter' Minerva began 'it is neither big nor clever to smart mouth your future boss' she smirked.

'I shall keep that in mind Professor.'

'If you don't mind, Harry, I have asked Poppy to join us. Since we will all be working together I thought it would be a good idea if we shared a drink.'

'Well, Professor I do have some last minute arrangements to discuss with you for the memorial on Monday. I hope that you will find them fitting to Oliver's memory.' For the first time since he had spoken to Minerva about hosting the memorial, Harry was unsure. He had grown rather fond of Claire and the last thing he wanted to do was to offend her or in any way sully her memory of her late husband.

'Well let's go over things and we can figure out the best way to make these additions work.'

As Harry was about to start, Poppy arrived with the whisky and glasses and proceeded to sit down and pour a dram of each of them.

'As you know next week the memorial for Oliver will take place here, Puddlemere United's first team, manager and club owner will be here to show their respects as will the former pupils that he went to school with. The minister and his wife will be here as will a delegation of Gringotts headed by no less than Ragnok himself.'

Harry picked up his glass and took a sip of the amber coloured spirit, the honeyed notes and slight smokiness across danced on his tongue. He looked at the glass in his hand appreciatively and said 'that is so much better than fire whisky. Anyway as I was saying Oliver's Widow will be in attendance and I have promised her that his memory will not be sullied nor will she be disrespected.'

'Harry, I give you my word that no one will disrespect her while at this school. Oliver was a rare pupil, not unlike you and Ms Granger but without the additional baggage of a certain dark wizard. As his former head of house, it grieves me that I didn't know of his passing, Hogwarts will see to it that he is honoured.'

Harry felt a wave of emotion that threatened tears at hearing Minerva speaking about Oliver in such a way. 'In addition to everything we've discussed since I proposed his memorial there is one other thing that I would like to do. I have commissioned Gringotts to create a trophy to be awarded to the outstanding Quidditch keeper of the year regardless of who wins the Quidditch cup.'

Poppy watched the exchange between Harry and Minerva; it reminded her of the many times that she watched Minerva and Albus. They spoke as equals, and given the many things that Harry had accomplished over the years, it came as no surprise to see this.

'Harry, Minerva was saying that you brought your mother back from beyond the veil? Is that possible?' Poppy asked in almost a hushed whisper.

'It is true, Poppy. I can summon a person's spirit however it was only very recently that I discovered that if I touched their spirit they could become visible and solid enough for others to touch them...'

Harry paled for a moment before whispering 'I got to hold my mum.'

Poppy immediately went to his side and embraced him; he had experienced enough loss and heartache in his life. 'Harry, I think that's time for you to go home. You need the kind of medicine that I cannot administer.'

##

Although he had achieved many things, the day was not old. The Floo flared moments before he appeared in the grate. The sitting room was empty; 'Kreacher?' the characteristic pop of a house elf Apparating filled the silence.

'Yes, master Harry?'

'Kreacher, where is Hermione?'

'Mistress Hermione and Mistress Claire have gone out.'

'Thank you, Kreacher that will be all.'

Kreacher nodded and popped away leaving Harry alone. It had been a tough couple of hours since he took the call from the deputy Chief Constable; emotionally he was running on empty. His eyes stung and event his hair was sore. He walked to the kitchen and saw the two cups that the girls had used; Hermione always used the same elegant Henley bone china lilac coloured mug. Claire has used a plain blue mug that every guest had used at one time or another. Harry took his own mug from the mug tree; it was something that Hermione had bought him a few years ago.

She ordered the mug from the internet, it was a bog standard mug but she had it coloured in red, on one side it had Gryffindor outlined in gold with a gold lion rampant underneath and on the other side in gold lettering it read Potter with a gold number 7. It was a simple enough gesture but it really meant a lot to him, even now.

He put on the kettle and spooned some instant coffee and one spoonful of sugar into his cherished mug. As he was waiting for the kettle to boil he heard a sing-song voice calling out from the living room.

'Harry? Are you home?'

Harry rushed through to see Luna's head in the fireplace.

'Hey, Luna, what's up?'

'Can I come through? My knees are really sore doing this'

'Sure, come on through. I've just put the kettle on.'

Harry headed back to the kitchen and pulled another mug of the tree. Luna was a simple black coffee girl. Luna came through to the kitchen, brushing a little soot off her dress.

'I really hate floo calls, my knees are always sore for hours afterwards.'

'This is a pleasant surprise Luna, what's the occasion?'

Luna looked a little uncertain about what to say, Harry handed her the mug of coffee.

'I kind of had a feeling that you really needed some company, you know after what you've been through today.'

Harry gave a very passable impression of a fish and he opened and closed his mouth without making any sound.

Luna giggled 'that's funny Harry; you look just like Marlin from Finding Nemo.'

'I don't know what that is, Luna.' Said Harry looking very bewildered that the rest of her comment hit him, 'How did you know I've had a tough morning?'

'Harry, we've known each other for the best part of thirteen years. I always know when you are having a rough time. I don't always realise how severe it is until much later but since your incident, I've been able to feel your emotions very clearly.'

'Luna, I love you, do you know that?'

'That's very sweet Harry but I'm with Rolf and well you're Hermione's soul mate'

'Don't ever change Luna.' Harry smiled at his eccentric friend.

Luna and Harry spend the best part of an hour generally catching up before Luna asked 'Harry, how do you feel about what Molly, Ron and Ginny did to you both?'

Surprised by her candour, Harry stared at her open-mouthed for a short time, since everything that had happened no one had actually come out and openly ask him how he felt about everything.

'I eh, I don't think that anyone has asked me that before.'

'I know, but that doesn't answer my question though.' Luna skilfully cut right to the point.

Harry sighed 'Once I knew what had happened I was mad as hell, I would have killed Ron had Hermione not found me. Ron has always been easily led and he could never stand up to his mother, Ginny was always defiant and would push things too far but she would never go against her mum. Thinking about it logically Molly has always been an overbearing, in your face kind of person. I never realised that this was not the kind of behaviour that a mother should display.'

'I don't hate Ron or Ginny, don't get me wrong I hate what they did and to be honest I think that Ginny has got off far too lightly and that is mainly down to me. If I was given the choice now I would push for Azkaban for her as well.'

'What about Molly?' Luna asked

'Molly is a different story altogether; she is as much a victim as Hermione and I were. She lost her brothers in the first war, almost lost her daughter while she was at school, almost lost her husband and her eldest was badly scarred by a werewolf. That would be enough to break anyone but then she loses one of her twins and almost lost her daughter in battle with Bellatrix. Something inside her snapped. It doesn't excuse her action but it does give a name to her problem.'

'PTSD?' offered Luna

'yup, PTSD. And what does the Wizarding world do about it? It completely ignores it, not one person that fought through the wars with Tom came out of it without some damage. Hell, I tried to kill myself because I carried the weight of the world for so long that it eventually got too heavy for me. I know that Ron started drinking heavily for a while, Blaise Zabini became a recluse. He wouldn't sleep for days because all he would see in his dreams was Goyle falling into the fiendfyre that engulfed the room of requirement. I went to see him a couple of years ago and to be honest it made me sick that he's in such a bad way.'

Luna gazed at her friend; she had always had a unique perspective on the world that was more often than not bang on the money. 'I think what you say at the Wizengamot on Tuesday is brilliant, but not as powerful as what you say at the memorial.'

This floored Harry, he hadn't told anyone that he was going to speak during the hearing.

'Luna, how do you know what I'm going to say at the hearing?'

'I saw it' she replied simply

'No strange little creatures whispering things in your ear when you're sleeping?' he asked sceptically

Luna just gave him a dreamy smile. 'C'mon Harry it's time to go to Gringotts, Hermione will be home soon with Claire'

Luna got up from the table and walked towards the living room.

'Luna you're freaking me out now!' he laughed as he got up and followed her.

##

Hermione accompanied Claire to visit Oliver's grave. It had felt like the right thing to do at the time, but now she almost felt that she was intruding on something intensely private. Claire was kneeling down in front of the headstone. The sobs coming from Claire were gentle and this made them all the more heart wrenching for Hermione to see. Her thoughts drifted back to the last time that she went to visit Harry's parents and how utterly helpless she felt as he grieved for his parents.

She felt equally helpless as her new friend wept beside the grave of her husband. After a couple of minutes, Claire got to her feet and wiped her face and turned to Hermione with a smile on her face.

'I haven't been here since he was buried; I couldn't bring myself to do it. Now that the bastards that killed him have faced justice I feel a huge weight has been lifted and that's down to you and Harry.'

Hermione shook her head and said, 'all I did was comfort you when you were feeling down, Harry did everything else. He has a way of making the impossible seem like an everyday occurrence.'

Claire beamed at Hermione and said 'he would walk into the jaws of hell for you Hermione, you know that don't you?'

Hermione looked at the headstone and replied 'He already has.'

The women walked to a nearby cafe and ordered coffee, the chatted about a great many things. The path their lives took, the dreams they had when they were younger, the men that they loved or in some cases thought that they loved. They danced around the subject until they had exhausted everything.

'Hermione, what did you mean back in the cemetery?' Claire asked bluntly.

'Do you remember that Harry said that during the latter stages of the war he walked to the forbidden forest?'

Claire nodded her head before taking a drink of her coffee 'he mentioned a resurrection stone or some such thing'

'The resurrection stone,' Hermione began 'gives the user the ability to call forth the essence of the dead and talk to them. Harry used the stone to speak with his dead parents, his godfather and one of the most honourable men that we have ever met, Remus Lupin.

'what you have to remember about Harry is that for the majority of his life people have withheld information from him about everything, who he was, how his parents died, hell even where his parents were buried. During the attack that killed Lily and James, something happened that caused Tom's spell to rebounded off Harry and destroyed Tom's body leaving him nothing but a spirit. When that happened a piece of Tom's soul attached on to Harry. To cut a long story short this piece of soul was stopping Tom from being killed once and for all.'

Hearing this shocked Claire 'what did he do? She asked in a tense whisper.

'A Prophesy was made before Harry was born, I won't bore you by reciting the whole thing but in essence, it said that one of them would have to kill the other.'

Hermione took a drink of her coffee, although she had known Harry's story since before she met him in the train, she had never openly spoken about these things with anyone before.

She glanced at Claire and saw that she had visibly paled; having lived through a lot of things with Harry she knew that it was not an easy tale to hear.

She continued 'When Harry was fourteen he was entered into a vicious tournament against three other champions, all of whom had more than a couple of years on him in terms of magical education. Harry and another boy called Cedric won the tournament and when they touched the cup they were port keyed to a cemetery. Cedric was killed and Harry was used in a ritual to give Tom a body. We found out the following year that they were another six pieces of Tom's soul and they needed to be destroyed.

'Ten years ago the Wizarding world was in the grip of a civil war. Harry, Ron and I were tasked to find the other pieces of Tom's soul. We were in hiding, living out of a wizard's tent moving from place to place. Tom's followers were hunting us; eventually, things came to a head at Hogwarts in May. A lot of people died both students and civilians alike. Tom used a charm and amplified his thoughts so that everyone could hear his voice in their head; he goaded Harry into meeting him in the forest to "end the bloodshed" and Harry being the noble fool that he is...' Hermione's voice faltered.

After taking moment to regain her composure and wiping away the unshed tears in her eyes she continued, 'On the way out of the of the castle he met me and Ron and told us what he was going to do and then said that in order for us to finally kill Tom, Harry had to die by Tom's hand. He refused to let me go with him; he walked into the forest and... He didn't fight back he...he was hit with the killing curse and for a moment he...'

Claire reached out and took Hermione's hand, both women had experienced unimaginable suffering at the hands of others and in one way or another they had both lost a part of themselves on those respective days.

'He still has the scar on his chest where the curse hit him. You know he is the only person to survive the killing curse twice? He still carries the weight of all those deaths; it's like a millstone around his neck.'

Hermione picked up her cup and drained the contents before calling the waitress over and asking for the bill. 'We should head back, Harry will be home.' Claire nodded in agreement, both women stood and walked from the cafe towards a secluded area before Hermione Apparated them back to Grimmauld Place.

##

As Hermione and Claire arrived and walked through the door they heard Harry saying "Luna you're freaking me out now!"

'Harry?' called Hermione,

Harry stopped in his tracks and looked at her, his emerald smiled as he took in her form.

He rushed over to her and pulled her into a bone-crushing embrace 'god I missed you. I have some many things I need to tell you and I have to go to Gringotts...Claire?' he saw Claire standing there looking a little lost 'Claire, I have great news about the memorial, oh this is Luna, you know our friend that Ollie told you about?'

Harry never took his arms from around Hermione during this exchange, the excitement in his voice was slightly alarming to her 'Are you alright?' she asked.

'Let's all of us sit down for a moment, Luna? This is Oliver Wood's wife. I think that she gave him some information for you.'

Luna looked dreamily at Claire 'He visited you in a dream, didn't he?' she asked. Claire nodded mutely.

'Let's sit on the couch; Harry has some news for Hermione that really can't wait.'

Harry took Hermione through to the kitchen, he was almost bouncing with pent up excitement.

'Harry, what's got you in such a tizzy?'

'I got to hold her, Mione. I got to talk to her and hold her.'

'who?'

'My mum.'

Hermione sat in stunned silence as Harry told her about getting the stone, bringing back his aunt and then his mum and how he got to hold her before her spirit had to go back, then he hit her with the last revelation.

'And just before Minerva walked out of her office to give me and mum a bit of privacy, she absentmindedly reached out and put her hand on mum's shoulder. Do you know what this means? Claire can get to hold Oliver again.'

Hermione was reeling from this, logically this should be impossible but so should Apparition, Unicorns and broom flight. While she was processing this Harry said 'she wants to meet you and soon.' She looked at him, the realisation of what he said hit her. Since her first association with Harry, she had been compared to Lily, a muggle born that was also Headgirl and the brightest witch of her age. 'I would love to meet your mum, Harry. '

##

Claire sat on the couch watching Luna, she was a little unsure of the woman beside her.

'I can read auras; yours has a lilac hue to it.' Luna looked dreamily at the other woman.

Claire wasn't certain how to react to this information, or indeed how to take this slightly odd woman 'Luna? Ollie visited me briefly in a dream recently; he said that I should tell you and Rolf that you should check out Thingvellir National Park.'

Luna's eye lit up at this suggestion, 'Rolf will be pleased, he has always wanted to go to Iceland.'

##

Suddenly the excitement left his eyes to be replaced with uncertainty, Hermione noticed the change. 'Harry, what are you not telling me?'

'It's not a case of what I'm not telling you it's more a case of something I'm not asking you.'

Hermione held her breath; she searched his eyes for some indication of his meaning. Her mind was suddenly blank.

'Hermione, I know that this is really bad timing; really awful in fact given with all that's going on but after seeing my mum, everything clicked into place.'

She gulped and nodded absentmindedly.

He took her silence as his queue to continue. 'I love you _mi Amore_ , I always have. Every day I get to spend with you is a day I never thought I would ever have. You are beautiful in every way and I don't deserve you.'

He stopped and looked at her, smiling at her lovingly 'would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?'

The ten words that he had just spoken hung in the air like fog on a winters morning. The words that she had always wanted to hear him say. She searched his eyes to see if there was something there that would help her find the right response. As she looked at him she saw an uncertainty that she had never seen in him before. He had faced Trolls and Dragons with cold determination in his eyes and walked away as the conquering hero, but now here he was faced with asking the love of his life the ultimate question and it scared him to the depths of his soul.

'I'm sorry I-' Harry began, but the words wouldn't come, the light that was glistening in his eyes seemed to grow dull. He tried to stand up but was stopped by a gentle hand against his chest.

'yes' was all she said, it was the briefest of whispers but it made his heart soar.

'yes?'

Hermione nodded, and leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.

##

The Cart ride to the Potter family vault was a lot shorter than the trip to his trust vault, and as an honoured friend of the Goblin nation, a lot more comfortable. He was a man on a mission and he had a couple of things that he wanted to do before he went back home to his Fiancée. The cart slowed and came to a gentle stop outside his family vault. His account manager asked 'I trust that you have your key, Lord Potter?'

'Griphook, I would have thought that you would know better than to ask silly questions' replied Harry with a smile.

'Indeed, however since your visit during the war it became policy to ask, even when the answer is all too apparent.'

Harry took his key from his pocket and presented it to Griphook with a bow, 'my key.'

Griphook considered Harry for a moment before saying 'You have always intrigued the Goblin Nation, Lord Potter. Even now there are few Wand-Carriers that remember our names or can even tell us apart, and even less that would treat a house elf the way you treat yours.'

Harry watched as Griphook placed the key in the lock and turned it before answering.

'Have you ever wondered why I specifically asked Ragnok for you to be my account manager?' he asked the Goblin.

'It had crossed my mind once or twice, my lord. I had originally thought of the old muggle phrase "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" however as the years progressed I found that this didn't fit.'

As Griphook finished speaking he pushed the vault door opened, it still amazed Harry that he had all that wealth. The boy who lived under the stairs had more money than Davy Crocket.

'You took a risk and helped me even when you had no reason too; this is something I will never forget. I trust you as I trust all Goblins, which is more than can be said for most wizards.'

Harry walked over the threshold of his vault and then turned to the Goblin and said 'I like to think of you as my friend and if asking for you to be my account manager helped you in any way I'm glad.'

Harry turned and walked into the vault and looked over his wealth. Over in the corner, he saw the cabinet that his mother had described, he went over and found the ring in a small box. It was beautiful.

The ring was a simple platinum band with a single sapphire, there were no other embellishments, it was understated and spoke of the feeling behind such a statement. The ring had an almost ethereal quality to it; it would be perfect on Hermione's hand.

'The Potter engagement ring' Whispered Griphook 'when the dwarf ring smiths fashioned this ring over a thousand years ago, it was considered a ring of exquisite beauty. The Lady that first wore this ring married Ignotus Peverell; to whom you inherited your cloak from.'

Harry looked at the ring in his hand, another link to his family. Harry left the vault and walked back to the cart, almost in a trance. Griphook closed the vault and climbed back into the cart and was just about to head back when Harry said 'Griphook, I would like to add-'

Griphook interrupted 'I will add Miss Granger to your vault access list when I get back to my office, My Lord.'

Harry smiled and gazed at the ring again before putting it back in the box.

##

Harry walked down the steps of the bank and headed to the joke shop. Even after all these years the lurid colours of the shop front still made his eyes water. A small crowd of people were looking in the window; they were looking at a small selection of the newest line of pranks and wheezes. He headed into the store and found it to be packed as usual.

He looked about at the shelves and realised that without his backing this venture would probably never have gotten off the ground. He felt immense pride in helping the twins achieve their dream.

'Harry!' George shouted and rushed over to meet his long-time friend. 'Long time no see. How have you been?'

'Hey George, I'm good. Listen can we go someplace quiet? I really need to speak with you about something. It's not business as such but I think its gonna blow you away.'

'Verity, Harry and I are heading up the stairs for a bit. If you need any help give me a shout okay?'

The friends had a general catch up on their way up the stairs. The last time they had spoken was the night of Arthur getting his law passed, so many things had happened since then.

'George, I'm gonna cut the bullshit. I want to show something but I don't know if you're ready for it.'

'Mate, whatever it is I'm ready.'

'Cast a Patronus for me' Harry asked.

George looked down at his feet and said 'I can't mate, you know I can't. Not since Fred...'

Harry put his left hand on his friend's shoulder 'mate, someone wants to say hello'

Harry put out his right hand and Fred appeared. 'Alright forge!'

'GRED!' George looked at his brother and then at Harry and then back at his brother before instinctively throwing his arms around his brother.

After a moment George jumped back 'how the hell can I touch you?'

'Mate, it's a long, long story and best saved for another time with loads of alcohol. It's not dark magic in any way I promise you.' explained Harry.

'Forge it's time for you to start living again brother mine. Angie needs you, Roxy needs you and little Freddie misses his dad.'

George slumped against the wall and ran both his hand through his hair before taking a deep stuttering breath.

'I'm a total mess, I'm not sleeping I'm not eating and I'm snapping at everyone. This isn't like me. Who can't I talk to? How can I tell someone that for the last ten years part of my soul has been missing and it's eating me up inside? No offence Harry but recently I've been thinking about doing something like you did. In fact, the night you tried it, I was a ball hair away from doing the same thing.'

Harry put his hand on his friend's shoulder 'I know how you feel, I really do and on Monday at the memorial for Oliver, I'll introduce you to Claire. I think that you could help each other.'

George looked at Harry as he spoke, his eyes shone with renewed hope. 'Forge, I don't have long left before I have to go back, but I wanted to tell you that you need to know that the notebook is in my bottom drawer. You really need to go through the things in the desk, it'll help.'

George smiled at his brother and said 'Thanks, Brother Mine' before giving his brother one last hug before Harry sent him back.

'The ball is in your court mate, don't do what I did. I was really, really lucky and I've been given a second chance. I'm trying to be a better person and help people that might not be as fortunate as I have been. Look at Draco and his mum for instance, what I did for them took everyone by surprise but they have been as good their word. All they needed was a chance. Look I'm not Dumbledore; I won't be handing out second chances to murderers and rapists.'

George visibly blanched at this comment 'What about Ron?'

'What about him? Hermione has been writing in a journal since she was nine. Everything that has ever happen to her is documented. There was a pattern in her infatuation with him; it always fell after they had been intimate. She would always highlight when they...' Harry couldn't bring himself to give it a name. 'Look, George, Ron is a lot of things but a rapist isn't one of them. He was questioned by Kingsley under Veritaserum and he confirmed that they didn't, not when she was under the influence of the potion. If he had then there isn't a power on this earth that would have kept me from him.'

George saw that Harry was beginning to shake a little and grabbed a hold of him 'Harry are you alright?'

'It's been a long day mate; I've not eaten since well at all yet. I think I had a better head home before I keel over. Have a think about what Fred told you.'

'I've been a monster to my family Harry, how do I come back from that?'

'Hard work, and love. Kreacher' the elderly elf popped into the shop 'Master called?'

'Kreacher, would you mind taking me home? I think I've overdone it a little today.'

With a last smile at his friend, Harry disappeared with a pop.

##

When Harry and Kreacher arrived in the living room at Grimmauld Place, Harry collapsed on the floor causing the three women to call out his name and rush to his side.

'I'm alright, I've just not eaten today' Harry said as the women started to pull him to his feet. 'You do realise that if this was the Vatican you would have just made me Pope.' Sniggered Harry, the women rolled their eyes and then dropped him to the floor again.

'Hermione, take pity on a poor soul' he pinned and gave her the puppy dog eyes look, knowing full well that she would not be able to resist.

'Next time Potter, you can get up yourself.' She reached out her hands to help him, he took her left hand and pulled himself up on one knee and pulled the Peverell ring out of his pocket.

'Hermione Jean Granger, you are my best friend and without you, I would not be alive today. Will you be my wife?' even though Harry had asked her just over an hour before, the proposal still took her by surprise. Her eyes met his and the magic happened, Harry slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her down to her knees. Their lips met, Claire and Luna watched as their friends were bathed in an ethereal light as the ancient family magic of the Potters accepted Hermione.

##

Mr Hawkins sat at his desk drinking a cup of tea, on the desk in front of him was the countersigned order releasing Ronald Weasley into the custody of Director Potter. In just over an hour at 0800hrs, Director Potter would be here. Mr Hawkins pondered the reason behind the order signed by the Minister and the chief warlock, it was certainly unprecedented. Maybe Weasley's action in the war had given him a little latitude; maybe the director had pulled a few strings to help his friend.

'Right then Hawkins, me old china, drink up your tea and do the rounds afore the good director get 'ere' he drained his cup and picked up his clipboard and set off to check the cells, deliberately leaving Weasley to the end.

##

Emma sat in the kitchen; the early morning light was slowly spreading through the window illuminating the room. She would normally appreciate the first light of the day but this morning her thoughts were troubling her. She knew that it was today when Ronald was getting released into Harry's custody, but she didn't know how she felt about it. During the last week, thoughts of Ron and what he did had prayed heavily on her min this was countered by the news that Harry had proposed, this had lifted her spirits greatly.

When Hermione and Harry arrived unannounced the previous night, both Dan and Emma's thoughts were that something bad had happened. When Hermione launched herself at Emma and with a very uncharacteristic shriek of delight they had known instantly that something good had finally come out of this entire mess.

Emma smiled as she recalled the look of unbridled happiness on her daughter's face, and when she showed them the ring that Harry had given her, their jaws dropped. Harry retold them the story that Griphook had told him, they were stunned. Dan commented that it seemed almost like the ring had been plucked from the pages of one of Tolkien's masterpieces and that the sapphire reminded him of a Silmaril. The blank expression on Harry's face made everyone laugh, Hermione tried to explain until Dan put on the DVD and Harry became enthralled, promising to read everything that Tolkien had written.

'Are you alright my love?' Dan asked as he came into the kitchen and found Emma sitting there.

'Hmm? Oh sorry, I was miles away.'

'I was just asking if you were alright'

'Just thinking about today, Hermione seems to be completely unperturbed by having her former husband living in the same house as her future husband for the next day and a half.'

Dan smiled 'When you put it like that, it certainly doesn't bode very well. However if you look at it from the point of view that they are simply three friends who are about to pay their respects for a friend that has passed away, it takes on a different complexion altogether.'

'I know Dan and I am pleased that they have been able to put their differences aside for Claire and Oliver but I don't know if I could do it. I don't know how I'll react when I see him.' Emma suddenly shivered and rubbed her hands against her upper arms before Dan put his arms around her. 'I'm glad that they are both better people than I am because, to be honest, I would have killed him before now' said Dan in an attempt to reassure his wife.

'Do you think...' Emma started, she was cut off by Dan gently turning her head towards him and kissing her. All thoughts of redheaded devils and appropriate punishments dissipated to be replaced by thoughts far more pleasurable.

Dan broke the kiss and whispered to his wife 'Why don't we continue this kiss somewhere less public' before giving her the most rakish smile he could.

'c'mon you, let's put that smile to good use' Emma took her husband by the hand and led him back up the stairs.

##

The Ministry was unusually quiet for a Monday morning, maintenance staff and the occasional department head would normally be in a few hours early either to make up some overtime or to make clear any backlog from the previous week. This Monday morning was very different; a memo was circulated to every department head on Friday stating that no one other than a skeleton crew handpicked by the Minister himself would be permitted access between 0700hrs and 0900hrs.

Minister Shacklebolt was pacing the atrium like a caged panther while Chief Jones sat calmly flicking through the weekend edition of the prophet.

'Kingsley, will you sit down? You're making me seasick, and I've not been on any boat since I first attended Hogwarts.'

'This was a bad idea from the outset, Jones you know as well as I do.'

'When has Harry even broken his word to either of us? As a matter of fact, when has he ever broken his word, ever?'

Kingsley stopped pacing and sat down next to Peter and said 'You're right, of course, you're right. I can't help having a bad feeling about it. The last thing I need is for Harry to end up killing Weasley-'

'Minister I think that we both know that Hermione is more likely to kill him than I am!' Harry said as he walked across the atrium towards both men. He shook hands with both of them before saying 'Hermione was happy to sit out of this for obvious reasons; personally I want to thank you for allowing this. Ron is a lot of things and deserves his punishment but this was more about saying goodbye to Oliver then rewarding Ron with time off for good behaviour.'

'Well since you're here we may as well get this show on the road, don't you think?' said Chief Jones as he stood up. Together the three men made their way to the detention centre and Mr Hawkins office.

'You know, Harry, it's not too late to retract your resignation.' Kingsley said offhandedly.

'Shack, you know that I love you right? But this...' Harry gestured to their surroundings 'this isn't me anymore, I'm not sure it ever was.'

'Well, you can't blame a bloke for trying. How's Hermione holding up with all of this?'

'She's doing a hell of a lot better than me. She has the odd wobble every now and again but on the whole, she's taken it all in her stride. Don't let her pretty exterior fool you; she's as hard as diamond.'

Chief Jones said 'You're looking far too chipper, considering we're collecting someone that drugged your girlfriend for ten years.'

'That would be because she's not my girlfriend anymore.' Harry beamed.

Kingsley and Peter both stopped in their tracks, Harry carried on sniggering to himself.

'C'mon you two, Hawkins is waiting!'

'No you don't. You can't just drop a bombshell like that and not expect a reaction' Chief Jones admonished.

Harry laughed 'I only asked her yesterday. I gave her the ring that my mum wore.'

Kingsley put his hand on Harry's shoulder 'Son, you'd best look after that girl if you know what's good for you.'

'Don't worry about that Shack; I lost her ten years ago I'm not letting her go now.'

Kingsley squeezed his shoulder a little and asked 'The ring you gave her, it wasn't that one with the Sapphire was it?'

'Yeah it was, you know it?'

'I was there when your Dad gave it to your Mum. That is one ripsnorter of a ring'

The trio made some more small talk as they made their way to Hawkins office. Mr Hawkins was stood outside waiting for them.

'Morning gentlemen, morning' Mr Hawkins greeted them in his usual enthusiastic manner, 'Mr Weasley is awaiting you all in this room. He's packed and ready to go Director Potter.'

'Brilliant, Mr Hawkins. What say we get this over with?' Harry asked his soon to be ex-boss.

##

Ron sat on his bunk staring at the door, waiting for the brief taste of freedom that he had been given. In the time between Harry having the panic attack and now he had been evaluating his life, his choices and ultimately how he thought of himself. Even before he met Harry on the express, Ron had been a jealous person. Always wanting what the other person had and never happy when he got it. Very rarely did he take the time to understand the value of things, people or actions.

As he looked around his accommodation, he realised that of the foreseeable future, this would be his view. No more Chudley Cannons posters, no more Which Wizard calendars, and no more photos of him with Harry and Hermione. Just like Harry had said, he would get to experience a little of what it was like for him growing up with nothing.

He glanced down at his hands; there was a slight tremor to them. As the time grew closer to his release into Harry's custody he realised that he was nervous. Nervous about how things would be between the three of them, nervous about what people would say at the memorial and a little bit terrified of realising what his ego, jealousy and stupidity had cost him.

The rasping sound of the viewing panel being opened drew Ron's attention, the unmistakable eyes of Harry peering through the slit did not fill him with confidence.

'Mr Weasley, if you would stand with your arms out by your side and turn to face the wall behind you.' said Harry. Ron followed orders.

'Ok Mr Weasley, I'm going to stand back to back with you, and Minister Shacklebolt is going to cast the tethering charm on these bracelets that we are going to be wearing, The Bracelets are port keys as well as acting as tethers. Do you have any questions?'

'No sir.' replied Ron.

'Gentlemen, when I cast the charm you will see a brief flash of light then you will feel a tightening on your wrist. This will last a few seconds then you will be able to move freely about. This tethering charm has a distance of one hundred feet, Mr Weasley if you go beyond this distance you will be Apparated back to Director Potter. It will be his decision on whether you are port keyed back to this detainment cell or not. Do you understand?'

For a moment Ron hesitated before responding.

Kingsley raised his wand and said ' _Praeligo'_ and just as he described there was a brief flash of light before both men felt the tightening. Harry grimaced a little before the sensation lessened.

'Ok that's you both tethered together for the next thirty-six hours. Director Potter will escort you back here via a port key.' said Chief Jones 'now bugger off, you're making the place look untidy.'

Ron picked up his small bag of belongings and he and Harry walked away in silence.

They reached the main atrium before either one of them spoke.

Harry asked 'You Hungry?'

'I had breakfast about half an hour ago Director.'

'Ron if this is going to work we will need some ground rules ok. Firstly drop the Director bullshit, secondly for the next day and a half you are a free man within reason so that means a proper breakfast.'

'Sorry man, I just... I just don't want to fuck this up. I appreciate you going out on a limb for me like this, I really do. I won't let you down, not like before.' Ron said with a nervous quality to his voice.

'There are a few things that we need to discuss before we go back to Grimmauld Place and to be fair to you it might be easier doing it away from distractions.'

'Alright, breakfast it is then' smiled Ron in response 'but you'll have to pay because I'm broke.'

##

Harry and Ron Apparated to a secluded spot in Hyde Park, Ron looked slightly confused as he took in his surroundings 'Harry, where are we?'

'This is Hyde Park, we are an about mile and a half from the ministry. And this' Harry pointed across the park for the imposing building 'is where we are having breakfast.'

Ron paled visibly 'are you sure?'

'Ron, being the head of two ancient and noble families does have its perks. The Black family have a suite of rooms in this particular hotel and that is where we will eat and discuss a few things.'

'This is a hotel?' Ron couldn't keep the disbelief from his voice.

'Muggles have developed at a far faster rate than the magic world Ron. The pureblood idea of luxury is way, way lower than what non-magical people think of as a luxury.'

'Yeah but surely the leaky cauldron would have better food, I mean what can muggles do with food that wizards can't?' Ron asked with a hint of scepticism in his voice.

'You'll see.' Harry headed off to the underpass, after a few seconds Ron ran after him.

A couple of minutes later Ron was standing outside the main entrance to the hotel, he had never thought that muggles could create something so imposing without the aid of magic.

'Welcome to the Dorchester Hotel' the doorman.

Both Ron and Harry said thank you and walked through the opened door.

'You wait here I'll see if the room is ready.' Harry said to Ron before heading to the reception desk.

Ron just gazed about in wonder.

'Right, the room is ready for us and breakfast will be there for us arriving.'

'Harry, where do we go and how do we get there?' Ron was completely out of his comfort zone by this point.

'We use the lift, they are similar to the ones in the ministry but they only go up and down. Don't worry Ron nothing bad is going to happen to you.'

Both men made their way to the lift, and after a short ride reached the desired floor.

'Our room is just along here.' Harry guided the bewildered redhead out of the lift and down to their right to their suite.

Harry opened the door and the sight blew Ron's mind.

'Welcome to the Harlequin Penthouse, Ron'

'...' Ron opened his mouth and nothing came out before he was a suite of rooms that he would never have been able to imagine in his wildest dreams.

'You've had a brief glimpse into my life or at least how my life was before starting school. I take it from the look on your face this is the kind of place that you expected me to live?'

Ron's eyes darted from place to place, seeing new and exciting things. 'Not even the Malfoy place was as nice as this; hell nice doesn't even come close to describing this' Ron walked into the main room of the suite. The view from the windows was of the park that they had been in not ten minutes ago. As he walked further into the room the aroma of freshly brewed coffee drew him to the dining room. The table held enough food to feed fifteen people, with dishes that Ron had never encountered before like Eggs Benedict, Eggs Royale with smoked salmon and Waffles with maple syrup.

Harry walked up behind him and said 'fill up mate; we have a lot to talk about.'

For a time both men ate in comfortable silence, over the years Ron had managed to refine his eating habits from those of a farmyard animal to something that passed as normal. The occasional belch was still customary but it was usually followed up with an apology.

Harry set down his cutlery before taking a drink of his coffee; Ron looked stuffed and was struggling to finish what was on his plate. 'Mate you don't have to eat everything you know.' said Harry. Ron took the hint and followed his lead.

'Let's go through to the sitting room, I think we'll be more comfortable there' said Harry, standing up with his cup in hand. Ron picked up his cup and followed Harry to the other room.

'So...I assume that you have something really important to tell me?' asked Ron

'Yeah, it's kind of big.'

'Well as far as I can see it's one of two things, either Hermione is pregnant or you're getting married. Right now I'm not certain enough to make a guess, so which one is it?'

##

Kreacher arrived outside Headmistress McGonagall's office with Hermione and Claire, the memorial wasn't set to take place for hours but it was Minerva's insistence that brought the women to the school so early. 'I'll never get used to that' complained Claire.

'I was exactly the same when I first travelled by Apparition but after a while, it becomes less noticeable. Port Key travel is less uncomfortable but you have to time your landing otherwise you end up lying in very undignified positions.' As Hermione spoke the Gargoyle guarding the spiral staircase moved aside, granting them access to ascend to the office.

Claire stood open-mouthed, unable to believe what her eyes had just witnessed.

'Does... do things like this happen all the time?' she asked.

'All through school I found myself asking the golden trio the same question' answered Minerva, who stood at the top of the stairs.

'We didn't go looking for trouble Headmistress' Hermione answered rather meekly.

'No, trouble seemed to have a pretty good idea where you three where most of the time.' Minerva smiled before embracing Hermione 'How are you, Hermione?'

Hermione didn't answer, her megawatt smile told its own tale.

'Show her the ring then.' Claire encouraged.

As she held out her hand to the Elderly Witch she said 'Harry proposed the other day, after he came back from seeing you. Lily told him that his ring was in the Potter family vault.'

'The Peverell Ring? I was there when James gave it to Lily; there was a soft golden light that surrounded them as the family magic accepted Lilly.'

'Whatever it was that happened, it wasn't a soft golden glow' said Claire 'it was a bright, almost heavenly white light. It was pure and almost too bright to look at but Luna and I couldn't look away. It was beautiful.'

Minerva smiled 'I always knew that you two were meant to be together.'

Hermione blushed, Minerva continued 'Let's go into my office and have a bit of a natter shall we?'

##

Harry didn't miss a beat in answering Ron's question 'I proposed the other day, I wanted you to know from me. This' he gestured across the suite 'this wasn't to rub your nose in it. I just wanted somewhere private to tell you.'

'Harry, I think I realised back in our second year when you refused to leave her side when she was petrified, that you and she were meant to be together. I...' Ron's voice failed him as tears began to well in his eyes.

'I don't deserve forgiveness, not for what I've done. And I don't deserve this opportunity that you've given me' Harry started to say something before Ron cut him off.

'Harry, I've thought long and hard about what I've done to you and Hermione and I can't even look at my own reflection, I'm too ashamed of myself. I let you both down, badly and nothing will ever make up for that. I just wanted you to know that I am truly sorry, not just for this but for all the other things I did. You could have cut me out of your life a hundred times before we even got to the hunt, but you kept me around. You saw something in me that I doubt anyone else could see and ...' his voice grew thick with emotion.

'Mate, what you just said proves that you are a better person than even you give yourself credit for. Forgiveness isn't an instant thing it takes time and hard work but this shows me that you are saveable. Stupid, oh hell yes you are colossally stupid but you are definitely saveable.'

Ron wiped his face but continued to look at the floor as Harry said.

'You've don't the easy bit apologising to me. Now you have to face the Grangers, and let me tell you they are just the support act. Hermione will be brutal, however, they have agreed that today is not the day for them to discuss things with you, today is about Claire and remembering Oliver.'

Harry got up from the table and walked through to the sitting room.

'In the bedroom, you will find a fresh change of clothes and a wash kit. I would suggest that you take some time to get cleaned up. Don't worry about shaving, I've arranged for a barber to visit in about an hour. Right now it's just after nine; we'll be at Hogwarts for eleven. I suggest you get a shift on.'

Ron took the hint and headed to the bedroom, 'erm Harry how do I get washed?'

'Go through the door on the left to the en-suite bathroom.'

Ron walked into the bathroom and was once again bowled over at the level of luxury muggles were used to.


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: I am not J.K Rowling, Harry Potter is not mine. I have a Laptop and an over active imagination.

This is the last chapter; everything comes to a head at during this final instalment. I really appreciate that a number of you have taken the time to read my little work of fiction and have liked it. Please feel free to review.

-0-0-

It wasn't long before Hermione, Claire and Minerva were chattering away like old friends. The topics of choice always seemed to end up back at Harry and how he always seemed to manage to achieve the impossible. Claire sat enthralled at the stories the headmistress told about the antics of the golden trio during their school days. She was particularly interested in the story of how Hermione and Harry managed to travel back in time and save an escaped convict for execution as well as a dangerous wild beast.

Hermione interjected and said that all they were doing was making sure that innocent lives were spared. Hermione surprised both Claire and Minerva when she said 'That night I saw Harry do one of the bravest things I think I have ever seen. Remus had transformed and in an attempt to save our other selves, I rather foolishly howled like a wolf to attract his attention. When he caught up to us Harry put his arms around me and used his body to shield me from the attack.' This confession caused the colour to drain from Minerva's face, Claire was a little confused.

'Am I missing something? Don't get me wrong Hermione, I love everything that Harry has done for me in the short time I've known you both but standing up to an angry man isn't really that brave.' Hermione was about to get angry with Claire then she realised that she didn't know.

'I'm so sorry Claire I completely forgot that you wouldn't realise what I was meaning. Remus Lupin was a werewolf, he transformed that night because of the full moon. If Harry had been attacked while defending me he would have been infected and he would have become a werewolf.'

'Werewolf's are real? Not just made up by Hollywood?' Claire asked.

'Mrs Wood our world of full of wonders, both great and terrible. Werewolves are simply people that have been infected with a disease that so far has no known cure, much like AIDS in your world. Remus Lupin was as kind-hearted a soul as I have ever met a trait that his son has inherited.'

Hermione looked at her watch, it was almost showtime.

##

Ron stood sat in the barber's chair that Harry had conjured, a look of abject terror on his face as the barber honed the blade of his razor. Harry smiled at his friend's discomfort, he wasn't looking for payback but he wouldn't let Ron know that.

'What's wrong Ron, is something the matter?'

'Harry is this entirely necessary? I know a spell that can do the same thing and I don't run the risk of being decapitated.'

'Ron, I promise you this is an experience that you will enjoy and it kind of forces you to put trust in someone else's hands for a short time. I promise you, Shane here is the best I use his services all the time.' Harry tried to ease Ron's fears 'Once we're done here we need to head to Hogwarts. The memorial starts soon and I want to be there for everyone arriving.'

'This is really important to you, isn't it?' asked Ron

'Oliver was a good bloke, he saw through all the crap and let me play. I once told me that he knew what it was like for me to have the weight of expectation on my shoulders; he was the last of his house. He said that flying always helped him see through the fog and when he saw me flying he knew that up there I could be free, I could set down the burden and simply breathe. It was flying that gave me the strength to keep going when everything seemed too much to deal with. I owe it to him and Claire.'

Ron sat quietly and let Shane do his thing, all the while considering what Harry said. This furlough he had been granted would help him re-evaluate what it meant to be Ronald Weasley and what his place in the world would be.

##

Harry and Ron Floo'd to the Three Broomsticks and walked up to the school, the memorial started in an hour. Some of the guests had arrived early, the usual bloodhounds of the press where there. One of the reporters happened to look up and saw Harry and Ron and decided to try to further his career. He stalked over to the two men, followed by a few others. Before Ron knew what was going on he and Harry were engulfed by the press, cameras were shoved in their faces, questions were being fired at them for a hundred different directions.

The original reporter, feeling brave, grabbed Harry's shoulder. Harry moved like greased lightning, the reporter was lying face down on the grass with his right arm twisted up his back.

'Have I got all of your attention?' Harry barked at the crowd, the response was silence.

'Good, now let's get it straight from the outset. This is a memorial service, not a feeding frenzy for gossip mongers and headline writers. There have been no reporters invited, no reporters are welcomed and if anything other than the official statement, which will be released after the memorial, is reported on. You will answer to me, and I promise you having a sore arm, like this prick has, will be infinitely better. Do we have an understanding?'

There were some unintelligible grunts from the crowd, so Harry asked again with a little more force 'DO WE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING?'

'YES, DIRECTOR POTTER' they all sang in unison. Harry pulled the stricken reporter to his feet

'If you ever touch me again, I will remove your head from your shoulders, it that clear?' Harry growled menacingly, the young reporter nodded and wet his trousers at the same time.

Harry didn't wait about for any follow-up; it wasn't long before the press dissipated. They knew better than to piss off the chosen one. Ron stood mutely and witnessed everything as it unfolded; he had never seen Harry like this. To say that he was frightened you be an understatement. Ron ran to catch up with Harry, 'are you alright?' he asked. Harry shot him a look, Ron could see that his friend was livid and that if anyone stepped out of line then there would be hell to pay.

Classes for the day had been cancelled, much to the delight of the student body. Most had been milling about outside hoping to catch a glimpse of someone of note. A few of the older students had witnessed Harry in action and when they saw him heading their way, they suddenly remembered that they had an elsewhere to be and high tailed it out of dodge.

Head Boy Jamie Fraser stood by the main door waiting for Harry and Ron. As they started to walk up the stairs he stepped forward 'Director Potter, the headmistress has appointment me as your assistant for today.'

Harry stopped and looked at the young man in front of him, 'You're Jamie Fraser of Lallybroch.' Harry held out his hand to the younger man 'that is a beautiful part of the country.' Jamie shook hands with Harry and said 'aye, sir that it is. Most of the guests have arrived and are in the great hall. The Headmistress, mistress Hermione and Mistress Claire are in the Professors office. Claire said to me that she feels a little like an outlander, what with her being non-magical.'

'Jamie, this is my friend Ronald Weasley. He is currently in my custody and cannot be farther than one hundred feet away from me at all times.'

Ron had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself as Harry introduced him. Jamie took him at face value. 'Sir, I'm not sure if you know...' Jamie started as they headed to the heads office.

'Jamie I know what you did for me, I owe you a debt that I can't ever repay.'

'Sir, after everything that you have done for our society, it was the least I could do.'

'ok, ok I can take the hint. Tell me, Jamie, what do you plan on doing after you finish school?'

Jamie took a couple of moments to get his thoughts in order 'The family estate needs to be tended too. My father is not magical and is getting on in years. I have to go home and take over the running of the estate.'

'It's a non-magical estate isn't it?' Harry inquired. They had reached the gargoyle.

'Yes sir, I'm a first generation wizard. Why do you ask?'

'Well Jamie, in an attempt to repay your kindness, I want you to go to Gringotts when you have a chance and speak with my account manager, Griphook. Tell him I said 35, and I promise you he will help you and you will turn around your estate's fortunes in no time.'

Jamie smiled at the older man and agreed to do just that. The three men climbed the staircase and headed to the office, Ron was rather nervous at meeting his former wife for the first time since he was offered this deal. He took a deep breath and walked into the office.

##

The great hall had been decorated with the house colours of Gryffindor as a mark of respect to Oliver; Minerva stood at the lectern and gazed out across the assembled guests, dignitaries and students. All of whom had gathered to pay their respects to his wife and to remember is life.

'When Harry told me the sad news about Oliver, I felt more than a little heartbroken. Oliver wood was an exemplary student, Quidditch captain and, in the years after the war, a trusted friend. I will forever cherish my memories of him.' She stood in silence for a short time, wiping an errant tear from her eye before saying. 'I would like to introduce you to someone that I have grown very fond of over the last few weeks, Oliver's Widow Claire Wood.'

Harry had offered to stand with her as she addressed the assembly, ready to step in if she felt overwhelmed. 'Hi, I'm Claire. A few weeks ago I had a chance meeting with a young couple that changed my life completely; Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Oliver had told me about them both and their exploits at school and in the war. To say that I was blown away would be a fair assessment. Then something happened, a man I didn't know made me an offer. That man, of course, was Harry, he offered to hold this memorial so that Oliver could be remembered by those that knew him and had in one way or another grown apart from him.'

Claire smiled and said 'I don't think I need to tell you of Harry's sense of loyalty to his friends. It was about a week later that I got a call from Hermione, we met and it was then that I told her what happened to Oliver. Every day without him is like a lifetime. Oliver was murdered by two thugs because he wouldn't give them his wallet. These thugs were non-magical like me, the police couldn't help and for three years they thought that they got away with it. Last week it took Harry less than twelve hours to find them, and have them tried, convicted and sentenced by Chairman Ragnok. The Chairman honours Oliver's memory and me by being here today.'

At this Chairman Ragnok stood and bowed to Claire, this was an unprecedented gesture, which sent shockwaves through the assembly.

Claire continued 'Oliver told me so much about his world, and over the course of the afternoon I would very much like to take the opportunity to speak with as many of his friends as possible. You lost him just as much I did. Now I'll pass you over to Harry'

Claire turned to Harry who put his arms around her and held her for a moment. The silent heaving of her shoulders letting everyone that her resolve had broken. There were not many dry eyes in the assembly after witnessing this.

Hermione stood and went to Claire and helped her back to her seat. Harry stood at the podium and looked over the crowd.

'Minister Shacklebolt, Chief Jones, Chairman Ragnok and assembled guests and students. Oliver Wood was my friend, my captain and my inspiration on the Quidditch pitch. His unwavering desire for the perfect performance; wither for his house or his club, rubbed off on everyone who knew him. Oliver Wood was a hero, during the war he fought single handily against five Death Eaters to defend a group of first years that got separated from the evacuated pupils. He would never accept praise for doing this, all he said was "doing the right thing is reward enough".'

Harry took a moment, the emotion of the day was starting to echo in his voice, 'He... he took a young boy under his wing and guided him in his first steps to learning Quidditch, and he became a surrogate brother to this young boy, a boy that had nothing to offer him except the eagerness to learn and hopefully impress him enough to want to have him around. I was that young boy and the lessons that Oliver taught me in my first year at his school have stayed with me. Oliver was my friend and so, so much more. I lost contact with him when the job of repairing our society fell at my door, I regret every lost second of our friendship.'

At his Harry's voice broke and he openly wept in front of the assembly. This caused many in the crowd to shed more than a few tears.

'I will never be able to repay his kindness to me, and I will never forget him or what he stood for. In one way or another, Oliver has shaped the lives of every person in this room, either through action or inspiration.'

Hermione sensed that Harry was in a bad way and as he walked away from the lectern he stopped and his head dropped. She was out of her seat and engulfed him in her arms before anyone realised that there was a problem. The assembly thought that Harry was overcome with the emotion of the day; Hermione guided him to his seat as Minerva took over the proceedings.

'As a lasting memorial to the memory of our late friend, a benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous has commissioned an award for the outstanding Quidditch keeper of the year regardless of who wins the Quidditch cup. The Award is currently on display at the rear of the hall; Chairman Ragnok has kindly consented to present the first recipient with the award at the end of year feast. In a moment the Hogwarts school choir will join us, I would like to invite Garrick Deverill and Dennis Kneen, of Puddlemere United to join us.'

The players of Puddlemere took had originally scoffed at the warning issued by the management on behalf of Harry, then they saw the confrontation between Harry and the reporters outside the school and realised that his reputation was to be feared. Garrick and Dennis made their way towards the elevated platform, as a mark of respect the players stood and bowed their heads.

'When Director Potter came to my office last week to give me the sad news, I can honestly say that I was heartbroken. Oliver was the best man at my wedding and...' Garrick openly wept, overcome with the grief of the loss of his friend.

Dennis stepped up to the lectern 'Oliver wood was a great servant to Puddlemere United, both as a player and as a mentor to younger players. Even now the training methods he developed for keepers have been nothing short of visionary. In memory of his passing and his outstanding conduct as player and ambassador for our sport, Puddlemere United as a club has unanimously agreed that from this coming season onwards Olivers number one jersey will be retired from service.' a round of applause echoed around the great hall as the assembled guests stood and acknowledged the unprecedented step that the club had taken.

While Dennis was speaking Claire had gone over to Garrick to console him in his grief, this act did not go unnoticed by the crowd. Once the applause had settled down Minerva stepped up to the lectern one last time and said 'The school choir will now give us a rendition of the hymn Abide with me, I am told that this was one Olivers favourites.'

##

Hermione had taken Harry through to the trophy room, her soft embrace was a soothing balm to him. as the stood there, she gently stroked his hair and whispered softly to him that he was going to be alright and that she was not going anywhere. His anxiety had slowly dissipated and finally left him, he felt spent and weary. Their solitude was interrupted by a soft knocking on the door, Claire poked her head around the door and asked 'Can I come in?'

Harry smiled at her and held out his hand, Claire took this as her queue to come in.

'Harry, I can't thank you enough for doing this today. It really means a lot'

'Claire, I had an ulterior motive for doing this. I wanted to give those that knew him a chance to say goodbye, but I wanted to give you something else.' Hermione knew what was coming so she let go of Harry as he said 'Claire do you trust me?'

'Of course, Harry, why?'

'I asked you a couple of weeks ago if you wanted to see Ollie again, do you remember?'

'yes.' Claire answered with uncertainty in her voice.

Harry took the resurrection stone from his pocket and turned it thrice in hand and Oliver appeared before him.

'Are you ready for this?' he asked them both.

'Yes' replied Oliver, Claire frowned 'Ready for what?'

Harry held out his hand and Oliver grasped it and appeared before his wife for the first time in three years, 'Hi sweetheart'

Claire stood open-mouthed, she couldn't believe what her eyes were telling her.

Harry broke the silence 'Claire, he's only here for a little while, I thought that you deserved one last moment. You can touch him.'

Claire stepped forward and put her hand against Oliver's chest, he said 'it's me, honey'

And with that, she wrapped her arms around him, and the little piece of her heart that had broken when he died was finally fixed again.

##

As the choir finished, Minerva stood at the lectern and said 'Ladies and gentlemen, refreshments have been served in the grounds, please stay for the afternoon and share your stories of Oliver.'

The former Gryffindor teammates who all played with Oliver made a beeline for each other, former captains and rival players fondly remembered him and his performances. As the crowd moved out to the grounds a young woman remained seated, she sat and tried to put a brave face on things but her emotions had gotten the better of her and she broke down.

Ron watched her for a moment and then walked over to her, he crouched down beside her and said 'Miss, Are you ok?'

'he...he saved my life and I never got to say thank you.' she said between sobs.

'you were one of the first years that he defended, weren't you?' he asked softly, she simply nodded.

'My name is Ron Weasley'

'Everyone knows who you are, you are part of the golden trio. ' she smiled 'My name is Jennifer, Jennifer Brown.'

'Well Jennifer, its a pleasure to meet you. would you like to meet his wife? I'm sure that she would love to meet someone that Oliver helped.'

Jennifer thought for a moment and said 'I don't want to be any trouble. I...I just wanted to pay my respects.' She protested.

'Oliver was something of a hero to me, I wanted to be him for a while. It really hurt when I found out that he had died. He really was a special guy.'

This seemed to put the young woman at ease and she said that she would like to meet Claire.

Ron took her hand and helped her up before offering her his arm. Minerva was standing guard outside the trophy foom and said 'Ronald I see that you are taking good care of Miss Brown.'

'I couldn't stand by and see someone in pain Headmistress and I've got a lot to make up for.'

'Well, I hope that if anything comes from this tragedy its the message that doing the right thing is reward enough.'

'Headmistress, I was hoping to speak with Mrs Wood for a moment, if it's not to much bother'

'Miss Brown, I am certain that Claire would be pleased to meet you, unfortunately, she is in the middle of something. I promise that as soon as she is free I will introduce you to her.'

Jeniffer blushed a little and said 'Thank you.'

##

Claire held onto Oliver as though the sheer force of her will would keep her husband on this mortal plane. Harry felt a little awkward standing with his hand on Oliver's shoulder, giving the couple the opportunity of some intimacy. Oliver stroked his wives hair and breathed in her scent which was heavy with vanilla and sandalwood.

'I wish I could stay longer sweetheart, but I have to go soon.'

'I know...I just ...I've missed holding you.'

'Listen, how about this? if Harry agrees, perhaps I could come back on your Birthday, how does that sound?' Oliver looked at Harry who smiled and nodded his agreement. 'See? It won't be long before we can do this again.'

Harry looked at the couple and said 'its nearly time, mate.'

'Harry, thank you for doing this for Claire and for me, it really means a lot.'

'It was my pleasure, boys from the Gryff, remember?'

'Boys from the Gryff.' He looked down and Claire and said 'I don't know if this will work'

He pulled her chin towards him, the way he did when he was alive, and ever so lightly kissed her on the lips.

Claire could feel all the love he had for her being poured into that one kiss. The sensation was the same as having a snowflake melting on your lips, slightly cold with a warm after effect. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that he had gone. Her breathing hitched a little but she held her composure. Hermione went to her friend, to offer support and if needed a shoulder to help bear this burden.

##

In the grounds the invited guests mingled, talking about various things from the memorial to the fact that a muggle was at Hogwarts. This particular subject was quickly quashed as word spread of Harry's altercation with the press earlier in the day. Evidently, this had been a good thing as it had kept the Quidditch players in line and now the rumour mongers had been put in their place.

All the former Hogwarts students that had played either with Oliver or against him were swapping war stories and having a good old laugh, house rivalries be damned!

Ron knew that they were all outside catching up, and for once in his life, he actually wanted to stay out of the limelight. Jennifer sat next to him and the chatted, he found out that she was a cousin of Lavender's and they discussed his late girlfriend. Ron thought it felt good to be slightly normal for a change.

The door to the trophy room opened and a visibly teary Claire, Hermione and Harry came out. Ron stood and held his hand out for Jennifer; they walked over to the trio.

'Claire, if you have a moment I'd like to introduce you to someone' asked Ron

She took a moment to look at the young woman by his side before agreeing.

'Claire, this is Jennifer Brown, she was in the group of first years that Oliver defended during the battle here.' He turned to Jennifer 'Jennifer, meet Claire.'

Hermione walked over to Ron and gave him a hug 'I think that was a wonderful thing you just did.' She held out her hand for Harry and said to the boys 'Let's give them a bit of time'

They walked a little away from the two women when Ron stopped, causing Harry and Hermione to come to a halt.

'I don't get it, after everything. All the deceit and the love potion, how can you be so normal about it, about me being here. Harry, when you were talking about Wood I started wondering if you would ever talk about me like that.'

'Today isn't about us, Ronald. Today was about paying our respects to someone that a lot of people genuinely cared for. It was about honouring his memory and letting his widow know that she isn't alone.' said Hermione. she took a step closer to him and said in a low growl 'don't think for one second that I am okay about this, about you and what you, Ginny and your mother did to us.' She turned and walked away from him before stopping and turning. The hatred and disgust in her eyes made him blanch, and then he made the mistake of speaking 'but...'

He was expecting a slap, so he didn't notice her foot until it connected with his groin, the follow up right cross not only knocked him out but also fractured his jaw and dislodged a couple of teeth. Harry stood and watched, he knew better than to stop Hermione when she was in full flow. Claire watched in awe as Hermione delivered her own type of justice, she felt that is was fully justified.

As Hermione's foot connected with Ron's little brain, Ginny walked into the hall. The legendary Weasley temper was beginning to stir, and then she saw the punch knock her brother out. Ginny scowled and was about to unleash a verbal tirade that would have made her mother proud, what stopped her cold was the burning fury and abhorrence of all things red headed she could see in Hermione's eyes.

Hermione stalked very calmly towards Ginny, never breaking eye contact with the petite woman. She stopped in front of her and leaned in and whispered 'stay away from us or I won't be as nice to you.' then walking away.

Harry levitated Ron and headed to the infirmary, stopping in front of his former wife saying 'Ragnok wanted you three to be given to their dragons' Harry considered his next words for a moment before continuing in a lower and far more menacing tone 'sometimes I'm really tempted to let him. Be thankful that Hermione is more forgiving than I am.'

Whatever future relationship Ginny Weasley thought she might enjoy with Harry and Hermione, died there and then. She had hoped that she could rebuild something that resembled a friendship, but now everything was over. There would be no invites to dinner or girly chats over a glass of wine. She slowly sank to her knees.

Claire excused herself from Jennifer and came over the stricken redhead 'Hi I'm Claire Wood, you wouldn't be Ginny, would you?'

'hmm...sorry?' Ginny was still reeling from what had happened.

'I wondered if you were Ginny Weasley' Claire asked again.

'Sorry, Yes I'm Ginny. You were Oliver's wife; he was a great inspiration to the Gryffindor team.'

'In the short time that I've known Harry he's always spoken so highly of Ollie and everything that he did for him when he first came here, I know that I'll never be able to thank him enough for everything he's done for me.'

Claire helped the younger woman to her feet and they sat on the bench nearby. 'I believe that you were married to Harry for ten years'

'That's right; he was my knight in shining armour.' She said with a smile 'he literally saved my life'

'Yeah he said, he also saved Hermione's life from that troll, it seems strange that she didn't feel the need to drug him.' Ginny's eyes widened in shock 'Listen, Ginny, you seem like a good kid, but you really fucked up. You see I knew about Harry and Hermione before I met them. Ollie told me all about the magical world and how those two went to hell and back to stop that lunatic.'

'Ron was there as well' said Ginny petulantly.

'Yeah I know; I also know that he abandoned them. I know that he cause Hermione to be in that toilet in her first year, that he turned his back on Harry during that tournament and basically called Hermione slut because she agreed to go to the dance with Victor. Let me give you a piece of advice Ginny, leave them alone. If there is even a remote possibility of you ever having a relationship with them again, you let them come to you. Move on with your life and learn from your mistakes.'

Claire stood up and walked back to Jennifer, leaving Ginny to consider her words.

##

Harry arrived at the infirmary with Ron floating behind him still unconscious.

'Poppy?' he called out to the legendary healer.

'Harry? Are you alright?'

'I'm fine, this time it's Ronald. He had a slight disagreement with Hermione's foot and then her fist.'

'And the lumps on his head?'

'it's not very easy levitating a person behind you, there may have been the odd stature, a suit of armour and two, no three pillars'

'Yes, well...I suppose that pillars can be a bit of a problem when they just sneak up on unsuspecting, floating unconscious victims.' responded Poppy with a sarcastic tone.

'I will have to get the headmistress to address this; it could have been an innocent pupil minding their own business.'

Poppy cast a diagnostic scan over Ron, 'well it seems simple enough to fix. If you leave him here I'll sort him out and you can go back to the memorial.'

'We are bound to each other for thirty-six hours; he can't be more than one hundred feet away from me' explained Harry.

'Ah, well that both simplifies and complicates matters. I can fix him up in a heartbeat but do you really think that Hermione would want to be that close to him if this is the result when he speaks out of turn?'

Harry considered the mediwitch for a moment then said 'we did discuss something like this happening. Hermione did assure me that she could be trusted to keep her emotions in check. That was her words by the way, not mine.' Harry could see that Poppy was getting a little angry as he explained 'I know that she would not have done this unless it was called for and Ron being as insensitive as usual was enough to push her buttons.'

Poppy cast the healing charms for the cuts, bumps and lumps that Ron had acquired on his trip to the infirmary. 'Rennervate' Poppy cast the reviving spell on Ron before he started to speak Poppy leaned over him. 'Now Mr Weasley, you have a significant fracture to your jaw. As I understand it your ill-timed self-pitying to Ms Granger was the cause of your...injuries. Do not speak or you run the risk of further damage, which may require you having your jaw wired shut. Nod if you understand' Ron nodded slowly and deliberately.

'I will fix your jaw and then you and Mr Potter will have some talking to do.' Poppy cast the charm to reset Ron's jaw and re-grow his missing teeth, then with a stern look she left, leaving both men in a very awkward silence.

'You just couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you? You had to try and make it all about poor little Ron.' Ron just sat there with his head down and listening to Harry.

'I'll tell you something that I just told Ginny; Ragnok was all set to feed you three to the Gringotts dragons. The fact that you are still breathing is down to me and how much I loved you all.'

Harry was beginning to get into his stride.

'If what you three did was only to me, I would have been hurt but I would have forgiven you all and go on with it, but you had to hurt Hermione.' Harry's pent-up rage was almost at boiling point, 'What did she ever do to you that was so bad you had to drug her?' roared Harry.

'Nothing, she didn't do anything. I was jealous of you and her; I wanted someone to look at me the way she looks at you. I wanted someone to actually see me instead of just seeing me as your sidekick.' Spat Ron

'Then why didn't you get off your arse and actually do something? You know what Ron, I don't care anymore. I'm done with you, I'm done with your sister and tomorrow I'm done with your mother. You three can rot in hell as far as I'm concerned.'

Ron got up off the hospital bed and pushed Harry 'so you're gonna put mum through the veil, your actually gonna do it?'

'She made her choice. Tomorrow is out of my hands, you had better hope that Neville is far more persuasive than I am.'

'What?'

'Ask Mr Hawkins to keep you informed.' Harry pulled out his want 'take a good look Ron, take a good hard look because this is the last you'll ever see of me' and with that, he activated the port key and Ron vanished without another sound.

##

Harry made his way through the school, occasionally nodding to the odd pupil or future co-worker. He stopped outside the great hall and saw that George and Angelina had found Claire and they were having a good old Natter, George looked up and smiled at Harry who smiled back at his old friend. He set off to find Hermione; he instinctively knew that she was sitting under her tree not far from the shore of the black lake.

'I knew that you would be here' he said breaking her thoughts.

'I'm not sorry for what I did Harry and I'll not be apologising for it' she looked around with a confused look on her face 'where is he?' she asked.

'After you left, I gave a couple of words of wisdom to Ginny and then took him to Poppy. She fixed him up and when he awoke I gave him some home truths and sent him back.'

'What about the agreement?' she asked.

'He broke the terms; I told him that if he spoke out of line he's back in his cell. That's what happened and that's where he is.'

'Oh, that's alright then.' She worried bottom lip a little before saying 'Can we go home now?'

'Of course, we can.' Harry smiled at her 'Kreacher' he called out and the elderly elf appeared.

'Yes Master Harry'

'Kreacher Hermione and I are going back to the house; can you take this message to Claire for me?'

'Kreacher lives to serve Master Harry'

Harry handed him a prewritten note telling Claire they were leaving and when she needed to leave just to call Kreacher and he'll take her away. Kreacher bowed and popped off.

'Let's go have dinner with the folks.' suggested Harry.

##

Hermione lay on her side staring at Harry, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath that he took, on his chest the area where the killing curse struck him clearly visible. It had taken over ten years for her to finally find her way into his bed. She smiled; every woman in the Wizarding world would kill to be where Hermione was. How disappointed they would be to find that all they did was hold each other and sleep. They both wanted to take the next step but were in no rush to take it just yet.

'You know if you think any louder, you might wake up Claire' said Harry still with his eyes closed.

'How long have you been awake?' she asked

'Only about twenty minutes, I was hoping that you would try kissing me to wake me up. Maybe we should work on our telepathy.'

Hermione playfully poked him in the side before lying on top of him.

'Hey you'

'Hi Freckles' he nudged her nose with his own before lightly kissing her lips.

Hermione rested her chin on his chest and asked 'Can we stay in bed today and pretend that it's still yesterday?'

'I wish I could honey, but I have one or two things to do today and then I'm free and easy'

He looked deep into her brown eyes, he couldn't remember the first time he fell into those eyes but he knew that he fell hard. These were deep pools that once you were in them you could never want to get back out. Hermione's brow was slightly knitted; this meant that she was worried if only a little. She asked 'What have you got on today, Mr Potter?'

'Well, first I have to stop by and see Nev and then I have to go and see justice being done, you?'

Hermione considered things for a moment, 'well I was planning on alphabetising all my knickers then perhaps sort them by colour. It's a really big job that I've been putting off for too long.'

'Well, you had best get to it then, all those black, red and white knickers won't sort themselves.' Harry sniggered before being tickled into submission by his brown-eyed goddess.

'Less of your cheek or you'll not be seeing any of them for a long time.' Teased Hermione

'Excellent! I've been hoping to get you out of them for a while!' replied Harry before starting his own tickling campaign.

These moments of levity helped ground Harry for the day ahead, one he had long feared would cause wide rifts with the Weasley family regardless of what Arthur and the rest had said. Losing someone that he had looked up to as a de-facto mother figure was a hard burden to carry. It had made much easier by his close relationship with Emma, a woman that loved her family unconditionally and but without the overbearing and emotionally suffocating tendencies that Molly exhibited.

Once they had tickled and kissed to their heart's content, it was time to get up and face the world. He only had a couple of days left as Director of the DMLE before handing the reigns over to Hermione. He knew that she would be perfect for the job and he would happily endorse whatever changes she had planned.

While Harry was in the shower, Hermione sat on the bed biting her bottom lip in a way that was reminiscent of how she was just before a Hogwarts exam 'Harry?' she called out.

She heard the water being turned off, it was a couple of seconds before he walked back into the room, naked and dripping towelling his hair.

'You called?' he asked her, knowing full well that his naked form was distracting to her.

'Yeah, once you put that towel on I have something to tell you.'

'What? Don't you like wet look, Harry?'

'It's certainly distracting and very appealing in equal measure. However, I have to be serious for a moment and you standing there all wet and glistening is not making what I have to tell you any easier.'

Harry quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and sat down beside her and took her hand in his.

'How would you like me to live with you at Hogwarts?' she asked

'Seriously? I would love to have you stay with me at school. I'm sure that Minnie would be fine with it.'

'I've already spoken with her and she has agreed to it, but there is only one condition.'

'Ok, I'm sure that it can't be that bad, we've known Minnie for years.' Harry reassured her

'With Filius retiring at the end of the school year, her condition is that I become the Charms professor.'

Harry looked at Hermione for the briefest of moments before pulling her into a patented Granger bone-crushing hug, 'Is that what was worrying you? Did you think I would be angry that you turned it down?'

'No, I was worried that you would be angry because I accepted.'

Harry pulled away from Hermione in shock, 'you accepted?' he asked 'when?'

Hermione looked up at Harry; she had taken him pulling away as confirmation of him being angry with her. 'It was not long after you came out of the hospital, I needed to know what happened...I-'

Harry knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. 'I think it's a fantastic idea, sweetheart. I can't think of anyone better than you to take up the post.'

'are...are you sure?' she asked unsure if he truly meant it.

'I'm sure, but you have to tell Kingsley' and smiled at her, giving her the reassurance that she had hoped for.

'He already knows, I handed in my resignation two days after you.'

##

Hannah sat in the lounge, going over the accounts of the Leaky Cauldron when the Floo roared into life 'Merlin's hairy arse, Harry you scared the life out of me' shrieked Hannah at the head in her fireplace.

'Hey, God sister-in-law, is that lazy, plant loving, layabout in?'

'Oi, that's my husband you're talking about Potter! And anyway there was only that one incident with a Venomous Tentacula but he told me it meant nothing.'

'I heard that Abbot!' called Neville from the hallway.

'Come on through Harry.' said Hannah.

Harry Floo'd across and promptly landed in a heap on the floor. As he got to his feet he mumbled 'bastard thing'

Neville walked into the lounge and greeted Harry with a brotherly hug.

'You all set for today Harry?' asked Neville

'No, not in the least.' said Harry shaking his head, 'Hermione and I both cut all ties with Ron and Ginny at the memorial yesterday. He was being his normal self, trying to make everything about him. Hermione lost it and put him in the infirmary. I told both him and Ginny that the only reason they are still around was that I told Ragnok not to feed them to their dragons.'

'It's not before time Harry, look I know that you and Ron were best mates through school; even after all the times he stabbed you in the back you always forgave him.' Neville put his hand on Harry's shoulders 'you were there for me through school when no one else was; you saw something in me that I didn't know could be there. You will always have my support and my friendship.'

Harry smiled at his old friend, 'Thanks Neville, it really means a lot.'

As they were about to walk towards the kitchen Harry stopped suddenly 'Hannah, if you're not busy I know that Hermione would love to show you her engagement ring'

Hannah bounced up out of the chair she was sitting in as though an electric current was running through it. 'ENGAGED!' she squealed before rushing over to the fireplace 'you better not be kidding Potter, or your balls will make a nice set of earrings' before she Floo'd over to Grimmauld Place.

Both men stood looking at the dying green flames before Harry cautiously said 'she's really quite frightening; I never noticed that about her before'

Neville nodded 'you don't know the half of it, mate.'

##

The fireplace of Grimmauld Place Roared into life a split second before Hannah shot into the room. Hermione, knowing full well what Harry was planning, just held out her left hand for inspection. 'Bloody hell!' said Hannah as she inspected the ring 'that's the Peverell Ring, that's...that's' words failed the former Hufflepuff. Hermione just smiled at her friend.

'It's the ring that the head of House Potter gives his intended, it's been handed down through the generations since Ignotus Peverell gave it to the woman how would become his wife. Harry's mum wore this, he only found out about it recently which is why Ginny never got her grubby little hands on it.'

'I don't mean to be nosy, Hermione, but what happened? There are some rumours but no one seems to have a clue.'

'Let's make a cup of tea and I'll tell you.' Hermione led Hannah to the kitchen and they sat down to tea and gossip.

##

Court number 10 was full. This was unusual for sentencing but due to the nature of the crime and the choice of the sentence by the prisoner, every member of the wizengamot was there to witness it. Chief Jones was sitting in his usual seat, listening to the general hubbub of the chamber while waiting for the minister, Director Potter and Lord Longbottom.

He didn't have to wait too long as all three men entered the chamber together. As the plaintiff, Harry peeled off and took his place at the side of the court. Kingsley and Neville made their way to their seats. Chief Jones gave the men a moment to make their welcomes to those surrounding them before banging the gavel to start proceedings 'ORDER, ORDER!' he called out bring silence to the chamber.

'Witches and Wizards of the Wizenagamot, we stand in session today for sentencing to be carried out on the accused. However, before sentencing can be carried out I have received a petition to commute the imposed sentence of the fate of Socrates. At this time the chair recognises Lord Longbottom.'

Neville took a breath and glanced at Harry before standing, he wasn't one for public speaking so he intended to make this brief.

'Witches and Wizards of this esteemed body; I feel that it is my duty to petition the court to commute this sentence. It is my belief that Molly Weasley is in dire need of medical attention, with the specific focus on her mind. She has admitted her crimes and has openly stated that she would rather die than apologise for her actions. This does not sound like a sane person to me. I propose that the sentence is commuted and that she be incarcerated in the Janus Thickey Ward in St. Mungo's.'

He paused and looked around the chamber trying to gauge the crowd.

'As you all know my own parents were long-term patients in this ward, while ultimately the healers were unable to restore my parents by to health, I have faith that they will be able to assist Mrs Weasley. Lord Voldemort does not need another family to be ruined in his name.'

As Neville uttered this hated name, the assembled body gasped. Harry shook his head at the absurdity of it all. Chief Jones banged his gavel again and said 'The chair gives thanks to Lord Longbottom and opens the floor for questions.'

'Lord Longbottom' Golgomath Bryce stood and addressed the chamber 'How can you say that you-know-who would have another family ruined in his name?'

Neville looked at Harry, his eyes wide in growing panic.

'Lord Bryce, do you think yourself a brave man?' asked Harry

'Lord Potter, I don't understand your meaning'

'It's not a difficult question, are you a brave man?' Harry asked again.

'I have, in my time, acted bravely. Why do you ask?'

Harry stood and addressed Golgomath directly 'If you are a brave man, please explain why you fear the name of a dead man?' Harry looked at the chamber and said 'In fact, I would ask each of you one other question; where were you when our world needed you?'

The crowd was silent.

'October thirty first, nineteen eighty-one, I lost my family to the whims of a maniac, and a short time after Lord Longbottom had his parents cruelly taken from him because of the actions of that maniacs followers. Where were you all then?' He stopped to await a response.

'No? Ok, let's try again shall we, where was this esteemed body when an innocent man was sentenced to life in prison without so much as charges being filed against him? Not one of you spoke up to say that it was wrong.'

At this everyone began to closely examine their feet.

'Tom Riddle brought our world to its knees twice in less than twenty years and it was left to children to solve the problem. Lord Longbottom is perhaps the bravest man I have ever known; he stared down Tom and his death eaters and rallied the troops. He helped bring the madman to an end. Tell me Golgomath, what did you do?'

'Lord Potter I don't think it's relevant to ask-' Lord Bruce was abruptly cut off my Harry.

'IT'S ENTIRELY RELEVANT' roared Harry.

A stunned silence hung over the chamber. Lord Bryce sat ashen-faced, unaccustomed to being spoken to in such a manner.

'How many families were ripped apart whilst this esteemed body did nothing? How many members of this esteemed body grew richer on the bribes from death eaters whilst looking the other way? How many of you sitting here stood by and did nothing while our world was falling down around us?' Harry slowly turned and looked at the assembled witches and wizards, none of them could look him in the eye with the exception of Neville.

'Today Molly Weasley is to be sentenced for crimes that I am sorry to say were carried out against me and my Fiancée, Hermione Granger. The laws that she broke were enacted to prevent the possibility of another Tom Riddle, but it is not Molly Weasley that should be in the dock this day, it should be each and every man and woman among this very body; those that sat back and did nothing, those that took bribes and turned the other cheek, and those that were too scared to raise their voice to say that it was wrong. You are each of you just as guilty, just as complicit as she is-'

'Lord Potter' interrupted Harrison Montgomery 'What would you have had us do? The few of us that had the courage to speak up were threatened or worse.'

Neville stood 'My grandmother always spoke out against the things that Lord Potter described. The only dissenting voices belonged to her and the late Lady Regent Bones.'

Chief Jones took the silence that followed Neville's point to bang his gavel to attempt to bring order once more to the chamber.

'Lord Potter, I have given you a lot of leeway due to the circumstances of the day, do not make me regret that decision.'

'To answer your point Lord Montgomery, The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. You did nothing and if it was not for the actions of a few good young men and women, evil would have triumphed.' Harry sat down, his anger barely contained.

Arthur, Bill and Charlie sat in the public gallery. Never in all their years had they seen someone publicly dress down the entire Wizengamot or their society, and for there to be not even a whimper of outrage proved that Harry had been correct.

Chief Jones rapped his gavel against his desk 'do we have a seconder for the petition brought by Lord Longbottom?' Harry stood to endorse the petition but Chief Jones said 'Lord Potter as you are the Plaintiff you are unable to endorse this motion, please take your seat.'

Jones looked around the chamber 'in light of there being no endorsement of this motion it is denied.' As the gavel struck, the three Weasley men flinched knowing that this was the last chance for Molly.

'Bring in the defendant' Called out Chief Jones. Two Aurors that were positioned just inside the doors of the chamber stepped out for a moment. Arthur looked eagerly at the chamber door, wishing that something could be done to spare Molly the veil. Bill and Charlie sat in silence, the realisation that today would be the last time they saw their mother, they began to wish that they spent a little more time at home instead of being in such a rush to escape. If they had only paid a little more attention to the reasons why their mum was so possessive then perhaps they might have spotted the signs before it spiralled too far out of control.

Whatever it was that was broken in her mind had happened when her brothers had died, and instead of grieving outwardly as other people had done; as Augusta Longbottom had done when Frank and Alice were found, instead she internalised it and smothered her children with her domineering and overbearing nature.

The guards re-entered the chamber with Molly between them, her hands bound with magical restraints. In the centre of the chamber, the same chair that Harry had once occupied appeared. Molly was secured to the chair and the sentencing began.

'Molly Weasley, a motion was brought before this chamber by Lord Longbottom to commute your sentence. It is my duty to inform you that this motion was unsuccessful. It is uncommon for the victim of a crime of this severity to be present; however, Lord Potter is here and has made the request to address you. I am of a mind to deny this request due to his outburst earlier.'

'Chief Jones' Neville stood and addressed the chamber 'Lord Potter is the victim of attempted line theft, assault, and of administering love potion without consent. He is the head of one of the sacred twenty-eight, it is his right as enshrined in laws and bound by Magic before the advent of the Ministry. You cannot deny him.'

With a deep sigh Chief Jones said 'Lord Potter, the chair recognises you at this time'

Harry took to the floor and walked in front of Molly; he stood and stared at her for a time, trying to get the words to line up in his mind before he spoke.

'Mrs Weasley, today I represent both Hermione Granger and myself. You were found guilty of attempted line theft, assault, and of administering love potion without consent. You have been sentenced to the Fate of Socrates as per your wishes at the recent Potter Dinner. This was witnessed by Minister Shacklebolt and the attending Aurors. I have to inform you and this chamber that Chairman Ragnok of the Goblin nation, who ordinarily deals with sentencing of severe crimes such as this, advised me that had the trials of you and your children been undertaken by the Goblin nation, as per the treaties we signed at the end of the war, you would have been sentenced to death by Dragons fire. It is my duty to inform you and the chamber that had I not intervened on your behalf, the sentence would have been carried out the day after the Potter Dinner.'

Harry let this settle on the assembly and Molly before carrying on.

'Mrs Weasley, I do not want you to throw your life away for the sake of your pride. You mean too much to your family and to both Hermione and me, even after everything that you did. As Lord Black, I can commute your sentence and get you the help that you need'

Harry knelt down in front of Molly and took hold of her left hand.

'Molly, please don't do this.' He whispered to his former mother in law 'I just want you to tell me you're sorry for what you did to Hermione.' He looked her in the eye, his tears welled in his eyes and he looked at her.

'I...I can't Harry, I won't apologise for something I'm not sorry for.'

He didn't bargain, beg or beseech in any way, he withdrew his hand and slowly wiped the tears from his eyes. Harry stood and turned to where he knew that Arthur, Bill and Charlie were sitting. He mouthed the words "I'm sorry" which the senior Weasley's acknowledged with a gentle nod, Harry closed his eyes and hung his head for a moment.

The chamber was watching the exchange in silence; Neville, who had been researching the ancient rites of the sacred twenty-eight all morning with Harry, knew what was coming next. Knowing did not make it any easier for either man when it came to Harry actually claiming his right.

'In the year 1215, the Magna Carta was written; within this text was the right for access to swift justice. As head of the ancient and noble house of Black, it is my right to swift justice. It pains me greatly to do this; however, I have been left no other choice.' Harry took a deep breath and called out 'I hereby claim my right to swift justice for the crimes committed against me and those under my protection. I, Lord Harry James Potter, of the House of Black hereby sentence you to the veil. I myself will act as executioner.'

The chamber erupted into chaos as every person stood to raise their objection, Chief Jones repeatedly banged his gavel to no avail. Molly hung her head while all the commotion was going on round about her. Arthur, Bill and Charlie sat dumbfounded at what they had just heard.

'Dad...' Charlie began to say something when Bill put his hand on his brother's arm.

'Charlie, this was always going to happen. Even after everything she did to them, Harry was still trying to protect her'

Both Arthur and Charlie asked 'What do you mean?'

'It was Harry that got Neville to put forward that petition, he had hoped that someone would second the motion and he wouldn't have to go through with everything else.'

Arthur rubbed his weary face and let out an anguished sigh.

'How could I not see what was happening? I've known your mum since Hogwarts, I always knew that she was driven and headstrong but I totally missed this.'

'Dad, we all missed it. When Fred died I think something inside of her died too. What happened to Gin and then losing Percy and what happened to you then the attack at the wedding. It just built up and then whatever it was that was holding her together gave way.' Bill replied.

Forgotten in the chaos, Molly sat bound to the chair, a sad smile on her lips. A strange calm washed over her, she didn't need to fight any longer. Harry watched her for a moment and realised that she had played everyone like a cheap fiddle.

Harry walked over to her and cast a privacy spell so that they wouldn't be disturbed.

'How long?' he asked her, she looked up at him.

'I'm sorry dear, how long what?' she asked feigning confusion.

'How long do you have left?'

'Well you're to be my executioner; shouldn't I be asking you that Harry?'

'Molly, how long have you got left? What was the prognosis?'

Molly stared at him, trying to figure out what he knew and how he could have figured it out.

'In May I was given nine months.' Molly pursed her lips and looked down at the floor.

'I was diagnosed with a type of cancer that feeds of magical energy. I spoke with healers at St. Mungo's, they gave me scans and potions and all sorts of thing but they couldn't detect anything. A friend told me of their nephew who is a squib that became a doctor; I made an appointment to see him. Just before Bills wedding, I took a muggle blood test, it came back positive...'

Surprisingly Harry wasn't at all shocked by this 'I investigated a case of suspected poisoning, nothing ever showed up on scans done by magic. The victim was a muggle-born witch; they went to their doctor who eventually found a cyst that was causing the issues.' He considered his former mother-in-law for a moment before he spoke again.

'Why do all of this, Molly? What did we do to you that was so wrong?'

Molly didn't look up, if he had ranted at her and slung insults she would have been able to handle it. Harry showing compassion and understanding at her condition was something that made her feel so lousy.

'I wanted my children to have the best, and if you and Hermione got together it would have ruined everything.'

'We are together Molly; Hermione is wearing the Peverell ring. Just like my mum and grandmother before her.'

Molly looked up and saw the truth of his words in his eyes; all her machinations had been for naught. Everything that she had tried to build had crumbled to ash, after a moment she let out a shuddery breath before looking at Harry and saying 'I'm ready to die.'

##

'So even Bulstrode?' asked Hannah while trying not to laugh.

Hermione nodded her head before laughing like a drain, 'don't tell him I told you.'

'I don't know what's more disturbing, everything that Ginny and Ron did or the fact that Bulstrode tried it on with Harry.'

Hannah glanced at the ring of Hermione's finger and said 'at least you got your man; it might have taken you a bit longer than everyone expected but it's obvious you two were supposed to be together.' Hermione smiled sweetly at the comment, over the years she had lost count of the amount of time that people had assumed that they were together and now that it was finally a reality she was really happy.

'I sometimes have to pinch myself that we are together, I wanted it for so long and now that it's happened I could not be happier.' She beamed at her friend before biting her lip 'I just wish that today didn't have to happen, even after everything that Molly has done to us, this is going to eat at him for a long time.' Hannah reached out and took her hand 'I'm sure that the boys will find a way.'

##

Chief Jones repeatedly banged his gavel to bring order to the chamber; it wasn't until Minister Shacklebolt cast a sonorous charm and bellowed out "ORDER!" instantly the noise abated and everyone stood looking at the minister 'Everyone please take your seat, while we proceed.' The sound of many feet shuffling to get back to their seats echoed around the chamber.

'Lord Potter, you have evoked an ancient rite that was set down before this august body was created. How do you propose to carry out the sentence?' Chief Jones asked.

Harry looked toward Molly; whatever righteous anger he had felt earlier had long since vanished, he cleared his throat and addressed the chamber.

'Chief Jones, Minister Shacklebolt and assembled members of the Wizengamot, evoking this ancient rite was not something that I have taken lightly. The only option that is acceptable is the veil, Mrs Weasley has already expressed this as her preferred option and I will not change this. However, I will grant her this one act of clemency; tonight she will have her family around her to set her affairs in order before her sentence is carried out tomorrow morning.' And with that Harry walked out of the chamber.

##

Bill and Charlie caught up with Harry as he left the chamber, 'Harry wait up.' They called after him. He was very tempted to keep walking but he knew that this was something that he had to get over with. Both Weasley's boys pulled him into a hug, completely shocking the younger man.

'You both know that I'm not into guys, right?' Harry asked jokingly.

Both Bill and Charlie reacted like they had been electrocuted and spring backwards much to Harry's amusement.

'We know that you tried everything to stop this, mate. Even after everything.' said Charlie

'I had to give her another chance after everything that she has done for me over the years...'

Bill put his hand on Harry's shoulder and said 'mate, you don't have to explain anything. It must be chewing you up inside to have to do this.' Harry looked at the floor.

'Harry' Arthur finally caught up with his sons after having a brief chat with some well-wishers.

'Harry, what time do you want the family to be here at?' he asked

'If you can all be at the burrow for six tonight, I'll get Molly and Ron there. The least I can do is giving you all a chance to properly say goodbye.' The three Weasley men nodded, Harry said his goodbye and made his way to the Minister's office.

Kingsley and Peter were waiting for him as he walked in through the office door, both men were clearly angry.

'What in the blue hell was that all about?' shouted Peter

Harry sat down, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. 'I exercised my right as the head of an ancient and noble house, that's what that was Peter.' The righteous fury he felt earlier had returned with a vengeance causing sparks of magic to crackle from his fingertips and all the lights in the room to flicker.

'I got answers; answers to a hell of a lot of questions that have been ignored over the years. You know what I'm glad Hermione and I are getting out of this fucking corrupt and diseased place; I almost wish that Riddle had won. It'd be no less than what you all fucking deserve.'

The air seemed to have been sucked out of the room; both Kingsley and Peter visibly shrank back from Harry, both of them looked shocked and stunned and his admission.

Harry stood and fixed both older men with a stare that left no room for ambiguity.

'At six o'clock tonight both of you will deliver Ronald and Molly Weasley to the Burrow, where she will spend the night with her family before her execution tomorrow morning.'

'This is-'Kingsley started before being abruptly cut off

'This is not up for debate, Minister' the scorn in Harry's voice was unmistakable, 'both prisoners will be there.' Both men had seen Harry angry before, but this was well beyond angry. This was unbridled fury; this was the most powerful wizard in Britain barely restraining the raw power of his magic. The last thing that these men wanted was to be the focus of his ire, the nodded in agreement and watched as Harry left the office.

Peter and Kingsley stood in silence for about ten minutes, trying to get their head around what had just happened.

'Did I ever tell you that when he was eleven he killed a man just by touching him?' Kingsley asked Peter turned to face the minister, all colour had drained from his face.

'You're not shitting me, are you?'

Kingsley slowly shook his head, Peter looked at the floor and gulped 'if you would excuse me, minister, I appear to have pissed myself' before squelching out of the office and leaving a trail of urine behind him.

'That makes two of us, Pete.'

##

Harry Apparated to the front step of Grimmauld Place, he stopped to take a deep breath before going in and seeing Hermione and telling her about the day's events.

'Is that you love?' Hermione called out.

'Yeah, I'll be through in a minute.'

'Neville and Hannah are here so keep your clothes on!' he heard Hermione laugh as she spoke, he could just imagine the look on Neville's face.

He walked into the lounge, taking a seat on the couch next to Hermione and greeted the Longbottoms 'hey there god sister-in-law and plant botherer' he said with a wide smile.

'Hey Harry' the Longbottoms said at the same time.

'How did things go today?' Hermione asked before putting her cup down.

'Well, I ranted; shouted and called the entire assembly, with the exception of my plant loving godbrother, cowards. Not one person amongst them denied it; in fact, they all sat looking at their feet. Then I invoked an ancient law and I told them that I would be executing Molly.'

Hermione and Hannah both gasped at this revelation, and even though Neville was there and witnessed everything, the colour still drained from his face.

'I spoke privately with Molly and she told me everything.'

Hermione looked at Harry 'Everything?'

He simply nodded and lowered his head a little 'everything that she did to you, to us was because she wanted her kids to have the best.'

'Are you defending her? After everything, they did to us-'Harry cut of Hermione's rant before she had a chance to build up a head of steam.

'Defend her? Tomorrow morning I'm putting her through the veil for everything that she did you.' Harry stood up 'she should be thankful that I don't break her fucking neck.' His surge of emotion caused the lights to flare a light before he stormed out of the room.

The Longbottoms sat looking stunned, Hermione realised what she had done and the colour started to drain from her face. 'Guys, can you give me a couple of minutes?' the Longbottoms nodded and Hermione got up to find Harry. It wasn't a long search.

When she left the room she saw him slumped on the floor just outside the door.

'Harry?' she tentatively asked

'She hurt you Hermione; I could never defend someone that hurt you. Why do you think I disappeared with Ron?'

She crouched down next to him 'I didn't mean to hurt you, Harry. I know that this can't be easy for you.'

'I would crucify the world in a heartbeat if you got hurt Hermione, but knowing that all this could have been prevented is what's hard to take.'

Hermione took his hand in hers, 'let's go back in with Hannah and Neville and you can tell us what happened.'

They got up from the floor and walked back into the living room.

Hannah and Neville sat whispering, 'That's why Gin and Harry never had kids.'

'Actually, Hannah' interjected Harry 'she never got pregnant because I'm really good at wand-less and non-verbal spells. I...I couldn't really trust her. Ginny wanted everything to be perfect, the perfect house, the perfect Job, the perfect family and, the perfect husband. All I ever wanted was peace and to be left alone. Before I tried to kill myself, I had already decided to leave her.'

'Anyway, as you know Nev, once I said that I would be the executioner the whole chamber erupted' he looked at Neville.

Neville nodded 'I was watching you; you were talking to Molly while everyone else was arguing, all I could hear was buzzing.'

'I cast the Muffliato charm, hence the buzzing sound. I watched her for a second and saw relief in her eyes. She wanted this and she played us.'

Hannah, Neville and Hermione sat silently listening.

'There was a case a few years ago that everyone thought was poison, do you remember?' Harry looked at Hermione who nodded.

'It turned out to be a cyst that was undetectable to magical scans; only a non-magical scan could identify and locate the cyst and allow a non-magical doctor to remove it.'

'Just before Bill and Fleur got married, Molly was diagnosed with a type of pancreatic cancer that feeds of magical energy. Some of the symptoms were erratic behaviour, poor decision making and emotional outbursts this explains why she was able to defeat Bellatrix. In May she was given nine months.'

Hermione said 'everything that we have been through was because she is ill? I don't know how to feel about that Harry.'

'As far as I am concerned, nothing has changed. She made her choices and now she has to come to terms with the consequences.'

Hannah spoke up 'the way I see it is that she knew what she was doing, she saw an opportunity and played on the fears of both Ginny and Ron and all the while she gave not a damn about you both. She can rot in hell for all I care.'

Neville spoke up 'While not as blunt as my wife, I do agree with her in that she was fully aware of her actions.'

Harry rubbed his face and sighed.

'Tonight at six Molly will be escorted to the burrow with Ron by both Kingsley and Pete, to spend a few hours with her family. She gets to explain to them why she has torn her family apart, and we get to be there to see it. Perhaps we'll get some closure and be able to put this whole sorry mess behind us.'

Kreacher popped into the living room 'Master Harry, dinner is served in the dining room. Kreacher has brought Miss Hermione' parents and Miss Claire' the elderly elf popped away again.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and both said 'it wasn't me' at the same time.

'No sweetie, it was me.' standing in the doorway of the living room was Emma, 'I knew that today would be tough for you both and I wanted to make sure that you both had people around you to help you through things.' Emma held out her hand and beckoned her daughter to come with her.

##

The burrow was usually a place full of life and vibrancy, but now it was a sombre place. Arthur, Bill and Charlie were sitting at the kitchen table awaiting the arrival of the rest of their family. None of them spoke, what could any of them say? They knew that Harry had tried everything that he could to prevent this outcome, now he was using his influence to give the family the last goodbye.

The floo roared into life. George; Angelina, Roxy and little Fred appeared out of the flames.

'We're in the kitchen' came Bill's voice. As they made their way from the living room, the floo roared again and Fleur appeared with her kids. In short order, all the remaining Weasley's and their extended families were in the burrow.

At six o'clock Arthur felt the wards respond to the arrival of Chief Jones, Kingsley, Ron and Molly. Almost at the same time, the floo activated and Harry appeared closely followed by Hermione, her parents and Neville and Hannah. The only person that seemed to show any annoyance with the new arrivals was Percy, he managed to hold his tongue for a change. Mainly due to Audrey promising that certain things would be removed from his person if he acted like a fool.

Kingsley entered the house; his eyes fell on Harry to whom he gave a brief nod, Ron and Molly were still bound with the magic restraining cuffs.

'Lord Potter, as directed both prisoners are here at the allotted time.'

'Minister, could you please remove the restraints. There is no flight risk here.' As Harry spoke he fixed Ron with a firm stare that promised a world of pain should he consider anything.

'Certainly, my lord.' Kingsley took out his wand with a flourish and the cuffs fell to the floor.

'Please don't let me keep you both.' Harry spoke with the authority of his station. The Weasley's and their extended family, who had never seen the Minister and the chief warlock being dismissed as a common tradesman, looked at Harry with a mix of awe and trepidation.

Harry waited for a moment until Ron and Molly were seated before addressing the family.

'I never wanted this. I tried everything I could to prevent what is going to happen tomorrow morning, even after everything that was done to Hermione and me I was willing to accept far more lenient punishments.' He looked at his former wife and addressed her with an icy tone that left no room for doubt, 'Ginny, you are just as guilty as your mum and brother. Do not think that your freedom is in any way a reward. Be thankful that you drugged me before the law was changed.'

He looked at Ron 'I said everything I had to say to you yesterday at the memorial, don't think that any of what happens here tonight changes things between us. I will think of you as dead until the fates make you so, then I will think of you no more.'

'Molly, this is your chance to tell your family the reason for your actions. I will show them my memory for today if you don't.' As Harry spoke the occupants of the house looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.'

Molly looked at the usually jolly face of her husband, she saw the weariness in his eyes and her resolve began to crumble.

'It was round about the time when Arthur was attacked by the snake that I started to realise that something wasn't right with me. Initially, I put it down to the stress of your father being injured so I asked Poppy to give me a checkup. It came back clear but something didn't feel right.' She sat down on the armrest of the nearest chair, her hands footering with the hem of her cardigan.

'A couple of weeks before Bill and Fleur got married I met an old friend and I told her how I felt things were not right. She suggested that I speak with her nephew, a muggle doctor who is also a squib. Well, he examined me and took a blood sample to test, he said that the results would take a couple of weeks to come back and that he would be in touch. On the day of the wedding, I received the results by owl'

No one spoke while Molly told her tale; she didn't look up at the people in the room. She couldn't bear to see the looks of disgust or pity that they might have. She spoke of the symptoms she had been experiencing and the possible treatments that could have been available to her. She explained that she ignored what the doctor was saying because he was muggle trained and obviously as a pureblood, she knew better, she told them of how she asked Poppy to carry out a full battery of tests to rule out everything and her short-lived relief when the magical tests came back clear.

'Mum, what are you saying? How has this got anything to do with what you made Ron and Ginny do?' Percy spoke up with an impatient tone.

'I wanted to make sure that Ron and Ginny were taken care of. The rest of you had made something of your selves, Ron was always lazy and I had promised Ginny that she would marry Harry. I had to do something.'

'Well that was a stupid idea.' said George.

'That's our mother George' barked Ron

'He's right Ronald. It was a stupid idea, and I should have known better.' For the first time in half an hour Molly looked at her family, taking a breath she steadied her nerves and said 'The Doctor diagnosed me with a form of pancreatic cancer. It's undetectable with magic and it's untreatable, and for the last ten years it has been slowly mutating and feeding off my magic. Being magical all the physical symptoms are taken care of by my magic, sometimes I have to take a pain relief potion.'

She looked at Harry, who briefly nodded at her to continue.

'In May I visited the Doctor and he gave me the prognosis.'

'porg nosy? What the hell does a nosy porg have to do with anything and what is a porg anyway? asked Ron.

'A prognosis is a forecast of the likely outcome of a situation, Ronald. Something you'll need if you interrupt again' scolded Hermione. Ron blanched at the rebuke from his former wife.

'In May I was given nine months to live. I'm dying' at this Molly stood up and walked out of the door and stood in the garden, leaving the news to sink in.

Bill and Charlie realised almost instantly what Harry was doing. He was allowing their mother to die with a little dignity, instead of wasting away in the coming months and being racked with pain.

Ron stood up and shouted at Harry 'you knew and you still put her through the trial and everything?'

Harry slowly stood up and walked over to the irate redhead.

'Can anything actually pass through that thick skull of yours? Wait don't tell me, you were distracted by the pretty rainbow outside and didn't hear a single word that was said. Is that it? It must be something like that because no one could conceivably be as dim-witted as you on purpose.'

Ron made the mistake of posturing to shove Harry, what happened was Neville's left fist connected with Ron's jaw, who dropped like liquid.

Harry turned to the rest of the people he had once thought of as his family, his voice thick with emotion he said 'Tomorrow morning I will be the one to cast Molly through the veil. I take no pleasure in doing this after everything that this family has done for me, giving you this time together was the least I could do.'

Bill and Charlie embraced the younger man, Arthur nodded towards him and Percy, George and Ginny looked stunned. Their respective spouses tried to console them while Fleur held the shell shocked Ginny.

'I'll be back for five with Pete and Shack; at six I'll escort her to the veil.' Whispered Harry, both Weasley's understood, and with that, the non-Weasley's departed the burrow for the last time.

##

The mood inside Grimmauld Place certainly matched its name; there was very little appetite for discussion about what happened at the burrow, with the exception of...

'Neville, where did you learn to throw a left cross like that?' asked Dan, the wonder evident in his voice.

'I took up boxing to help me with coming to terms with everything that happened to me during that last year at Hogwarts. Punching things has so many therapeutic qualities' he said.

'I think we are going to be great friends, Neville' said Dan.

##

A deathly silence hung over the Burrow, the news that not only was Molly dying but that she had orchestrated the whole charade. The first voice to break the silence came from an unlikely source; however, the question was certainly one that was on the lips of most of the family'

'Did you use a love potion on me?' asked Audrey.

Percy's head snapped round to look at his wife so fast that the sound of his neck cracking was heard by everyone. 'How can you ask that?' Percy demanded

'Well it's not like she hasn't got previous form, is it?' Audrey responded before asking Molly again 'Well did you use a love potion on me?'

'No, Arthur was the only other person' said Molly.

'I lost my best friend' said George, causing everyone to look at him.

'I lost my best friend because I couldn't cope with losing my brother if it wasn't for that man I would have lost my kids as well. He came to see me the other day and he shook my world, made me see that what I was doing was destroying my family.' He reached over and took Angelina's hand 'I found that my best friend was waiting for me to realise that she was there the entire time. Harry gave me the strength to admit that I was struggling and I will forever be grateful to him. What you did to Harry and Hermione is unforgivable but you're still my mother and I love you and whatever time we have left I will make it memorable.'

When George finished speaking, it felt that there was a weight lifted off the Burrow. Eventually, the ringing peals of laughter could be heard.

##

The alarm clock read four thirty; Harry was wide awake watching the early hours of the day slowly spin away. Hermione had her head resting on his chest, her fingers slowly tracing the outline of the scar that the killing curse left. To most people this would seem like a blissful experience, lying in bed with the love of your life. Unfortunately, this morning was not going to be a blissful one.

'You want to talk about it?' Hermione ventured

'Not really' replied Harry

'Don't beat yourself up about it, every man experiences it at one point in their life'

'I'm not sure every man gets to kill their ex-mother-in-law'

'Maybe not but I bet that they certainly think about doing it, and besides I've sorted out my knicker drawer'

'Perhaps your right' Harry absentmindedly replied before he realised what Hermione said 'what did you say?'

'I was just making sure that you were listening' replied Hermione before she playfully bit his right nipple.

'Oi! Don't start something you're not prepared to finish' Harry warned

'Hermione smiled seductively and said 'who said I wasn't prepared to finish it?' before she rose up to meet his lips.

As the alarm clock slowly ticked away the time, Harry and Hermione took solace in each other. Their hunger for each other was tempered by their promise to each other that they would wait for their wedding night before taking that final step in their relationship.

The distinctive crack of Apparition rang out in the early morning. Three men slowly made their way towards the Burrow, their arrival triggered the wards. Arthur stood at the door watching them approach. Over the last couple of hours Arthur and Molly had discussed everything and while there were things that he wasn't happy about, he simply put them in the past and took the remaining time that they had left and used it well.

'Morning guys, I've just brewed some coffee if you have time for a cup.' He offered

'That sound Good Mr Weasley, thanks' said Harry

'It's my pleasure Lord Potter' retorted Arthur

Harry smiled at the older man 'point taken Arthur'

'Good. Ron is still asleep as I'm sure that you can hear, Molly is in the kitchen making some pancakes. She's been singing a muggle song called "Sunset Boulevard" all morning, specifically the line "Still I'll enjoy a hearty meal, before tomorrow's execution" I'm not really sure I know what to make of it, to be honest.'

The three men followed Arthur into the house; most of the family were still there. Ginny looked as though she hadn't slept for most of the last week. She looked up and saw Harry, whatever colour was remaining in her face drained away. The realisation dawned on her that this was real and very soon her mother would be dead, she got up and fled the room, struggling to keep the tears from falling.

Everyone stood but it was Harry that went to her.

'Ginny, are you alright?' he asked, before mentally kicking himself.

'Oh, I'm just peachy. My mum is about to die and the love of my life is going to kill her. What's not good about that?'

Harry blanched slightly at her words 'let's be clear from the outset Ginny. She brought this on herself, and if I really was the love of your life then why the hell did you treat me with such contempt throughout our marriage? Oh, and in case you didn't know Hermione and I are getting married. I gave her the Peverell Ring that the Lady of house Potter wears; the Potter family magic accepted her.

Tell me didn't you ever wonder why the Potter magic never accepted you? I don't doubt that you think that you loved me, but let's be honest, you loved a fairy story'

Ginny reeled backwards at Harry's words. While he didn't shout her, his level tone sounded more menacing and hit her harder than if he had shouted.

It was at this point that Ron came down the stairs and saw Harry talking to his sister.

'Oi Potter, is one woman, not enough for you that you have to try it on with my sister again?'

Ron was never the quickest on the uptake. Harry stared at him with no emotion in the eyes before saying 'you had best say goodbye, Mr Weasley, in ten minutes you are going back to gaol for a long time.' He turned and walked away leaving Ginny to scowl at her brother.

Back in the kitchen Molly hugged and kissed everyone in the room, the family had taken the time to put to rights all the crossed words and animosity that they had felt over the last couple of months. Now was not a time to dwell on the problems of a family in crisis, it was time for them to come together and heal as a family. Harry saw that Pete and Shack were standing outside; giving the Weasley's the time to say their goodbyes without being rushed.

'Did you mean what you said in my office yesterday, Harry?' Kingsley asked the younger man

'which part?' asked Harry

'The part about Riddle, Is that really how you feel?'

'The ministry needs to be purged, Kingsley. There are too many people that are they only for self-interest and they have no desire to help anyone else. It took Hermione and me ten years to fix the DMLE and now it's the envy of the magical world. Tomorrow is our last day which means you are on your own. We are done.'

Peter Jones said 'You know that as Chief of the Wizenagamot I could compel you both to withdraw your resignations don't you?'

Harry didn't even look at him 'You know that if you tried, there would be a reckoning. Hermione isn't the type of person to take a threat like that lying down. I, on the other hand, I have, over the last few months had to do a lot of introspection and what I have found about myself, is rather interesting. Threaten me all you want because I'll just ignore you and your pettiness. Threaten my fiancée and there is not a power in heaven or earth that will protect you.'

Harry turned to Pete and said 'I made you both piss yourself just by raising my voice, imagine what I could do if I'm really angry.'

As Harry turned and walked out into the garden, Kinglsey spoke to Peter'

'Are you really that stupid that you would try to force him of all people?'

'Shack, we can't just let them both walk away, we need them. Having Harry Potter as our vanguard keeps the darkness in check' argued Chief Jones.

'Pete, those two more than anyone else deserve peace. You threaten them and not only will you have them to deal with but you will have the whole of magical Britain against you. as Minister, I would advise against any course of action that will cause civil unrest, as your friend I urge you to apologise and stop being a dick.'

Pete's shoulders slumped, he nodded to Shack and trudged off to apologise to Harry.

Molly and Ron came out of the house and stood before Kingsley. They had heard the exchange and looked questioningly at him.

'Everything you heard is true; Harry and Hermione are leaving the ministry tomorrow. Both will be taking up positions at Hogwarts and to be honest I am pleased for them. Everything that has happened recently has been too much to bear, even for them. Yesterday in my office, after the sentencing, he gave a very frightening displace of magic. Make no mistake if he wanted vengeance, only one person would be able to stop him and right now I do believe that she would happily side with him.'

Harry and Pete reappeared alongside the Kingsley and the Weasley prisoners.

'Minister Shackle Bolt, Chief Jones, Please escort the prisoners back to the holding cells. I will meet you in the death chamber in twenty minutes.' Harry nodded to them and re-entered the house to floo back to Grimmauld Place.

##

Harry stood in front of the veil; he could hear the faint whispers emanating from the arch. This was the first time that he had been in this chamber since the night that Sirius had died. He fingered the stone in his pocket and called forth Fabian and Gideon Prewett.

'Why have you summoned us?' they asked in unison.

'hmm? Sorry, I wasn't meaning too, are you Fabian and Gideon?'

'We are, Harry Potter. We know of your suffering at the hand of our sister. We also know of the compassion that you have shown her even after all that she has done against you'

'Then you know that I have no other choice but to cast her through the veil' asked Harry.

'We do, we hold no enmity against you. You must send us back before she arrives; it would do her no good to know that she will see us on the other side'

With that, he released the stone from his grasp and the Prewett brothers disappeared.

Harry stood alone for a few minutes before Molly arrived with Peter and Kingsley.

'Lord Potter, it is time' Kingsley called out to his, pulling Harry from his thoughts.

Harry looked up and saw the trio waiting for him. This was not how the world was meant to be after Riddle fell.

Harry addressed 'Molly you have been sentenced to be cast through the veil of Death for your crimes against the House of Black, as head of the aforementioned House it is my duty to carry out the sentencing. Do you have any final words?'

Molly shook her head.

'Molly Weasley for your crimes you will be executed in accordance with our laws and customs'

Harry lead her up on to the platform were the arch stood, the overwhelming feeling to rush from this place was threatening to spill overtake him.

Peter and Kingsley stood just inside the door to the chamber, there only as witnesses to ensure that everything was carried out correctly.

'Harry...I... I don't know if I can do this.' Stuttered Molly as they stood on the thresh hold.

'This was your choice, Molly. Everything you did brought us here, if you can't or won't walk through of your own accord then you leave me no choice but to push you through.'

Molly shuffled forward a little, trying to summon a little of her Gryffindor courage. As the whispering got louder her resolve crumbled and she took a step back.

'HARRY NO, DON'T DO THIS!' she cried out 'I DON'T WANT TO DIE.'

'You should have thought about that when you told your children to drug Hermione and me, or when you insulted my future wife. If you had only don't things to me I could have forgiven you, but when you hurt the woman I love then all bets are off.'

Harry summoned his strength and braced his hands against Molly's back and gave an all mighty push. Time seemed to slow as Molly was propelled forward towards the arch, she cried out 'NNNNNOOOOOO' which seemed to echo around the chamber before suddenly ending abruptly as Molly disappeared through the veil.

Harry slumped to his knees as time regained its usual speed. Both he and Hermione could now get on with their lives without all the baggage hanging over them. It was finally over.

'Lord Potter, sentencing has now been carried out in accordance with the law. Your presence is no longer required here' Chief Jones called out to him.

Feeling the pressure on his knees from the stony ground, Harry slowly stood up and walked out of the chamber. He didn't acknowledge the two men standing by the door. He walked towards the elevators with as much dignity as he could muster before the wave of nausea hit him and the contents of this stomach made a grand reappearance.

'Are you alright son?' the familiar voice of Arthur Weasley rang in Harry's ears.

'I just...I just killed her Arthur.'

'she asked me to keep an eye on you afterwards. She said to me that she regretted everything that she had ever done to you and Hermione, but she couldn't see another way out. Our family magic won't allow a Weasley to kill them self.' He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Harry,

'The family discussed everything last night; Molly wanted them to know that none of this was your fault. Ron was less than complimentary but given that he has always been jealous of you it was to be expected. Your biggest ally was Percy of all people; I think that he could see that you were suffering just as much as the rest of us over the whole thing.'

'You better get back to Hermione; she'll be expecting you home. Oh and Harry don't think that this changes anything, we still consider you both as a part of the family so don't be too much of a stranger.'

##

In the days and weeks since he pushed Molly through the veil, the whole story came out in the press. Joint statements from Arthur and Harry stopped the most salacious rumours with regards to his and Hermione's relationship. When the announcement was made that they had both left their positions at the ministry to take up teaching roles at Hogwarts, there was initially some backlash, mainly due to the Witch Weekly suggesting that there was more to the story of their relationship than meets the eye.

In an interview with the Godric Herald, a new publication that came into being to provide the populace with honest and forthright reporting, Harry explained that he and Hermione had reformed the DMLE as much as they could and it was now self-sustaining. They now had something else to reform, the defence and charms curriculum at Hogwarts. Although charms have been taught for decades by one of the most respected masters in the field, the time had come for a fresh approach. Unfortunately, Defence had long been a position that had suffered from inconsistent methods of teaching or simple incompetency, Harry and Hermione had been given an opportunity to put Hogwarts back to the top of the academic pile.

##

The sorting of the first years had been very uneventful, The sorting hat sang a song of its own composition telling of the strength on unity and how harmony can be found if we only look in the right places. After the feast Headmistress, McGonagall rose to her feet and addressed the school.

'Before we commence with our start of term feast, there are a few intimations and staff changes that you need to be aware of. First and foremost the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden. Under no circumstances are pupils allowed to venture within its borders.' She paused for dramatic effect.

'Mr Filch wishes me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes, and on his door is a list of all the items from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes that are currently banned. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term for anyone that wishes to participate, this will now include first years.'

This received the loudest cheer of the evening so far.

'Our first new member of staff replaces our beloved Professor Flitwick who retired at the end of the last term after thirty-three years of teaching, taking up the position of Charms mistress is our former Gryffindor head girl, winner of the order of Merlin first class and former deputy director of the DMLE, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to you new Charms Professor, Miss Hermione Granger'

The great hall broke into thunderous applause as Hermione stood and beaming, waved to the school before retaking her seat a few moments later.

'Our second new member of staff is someone that needs no introduction; however, I will try to give him one. I met this man for the first time in nineteen eighty shortly after he was born, and given the events that followed his first birthday, it took another ten years before I made his acquaintance, here in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. He was the youngest seeker of the century, so if any of you first years are considering trying out for the house team, you would do worse than follow his example.'

The first years laughed at this comment.

'In his second year he saved the school by defeating a sixty-foot Basilisk, in his third year He and Professor Granger saved an innocent man from a fate worse than death. In his fourth year, he not only did he dual the dark lord Voldemort he also won the Tri-wizard tournament at the age of fourteen. He has been given many titles over the years from the Boy-who-lived to the Chosen one to Director of the DMLE, but the one that has always described him perfectly is "friend" He is also the recipient of the order of Merlin, first class. It is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Mr Harry Potter'

The great hall erupted; every pupil from every house was on their feet applauding the hero of the Wizarding world. Harry took to his feet and waved at the school, then the staff all took to their feet and joined in the applause. Harry walked to the centre of the podium and held out his hand for Hermione to join him; this was as much a celebration for her as it was for him.

After a long ovation, the great hall eventually fell silent and Harry addressed the school.

'Thank you all for that warm welcome, I won't keep you from our sumptuous feast that the elves have worked so hard to produce. It was ten years ago this year, in this very hall that Tom Riddle was finally defeated. I have received many plaudits over the years but I could not have done it on my own. The three of us that finally brought about his end were only in our late teens. Our friends worked hard to ensure that whatever toe hold they had in this school was fought against and in the end, it was our solidarity that won through.'

He looked around the hall before he continued 'Many of us that fought that day in this hall still have painful memories about being here, so with that in mind Hermione and I would like to exorcise some of these more painful memories and replace them with much happier ones. With the headmistresses permission, Hermione and I would like to invite you all to attend our wedding here on the nineteenth of September'

Once again the hall erupted in applause, interspersed with the odd wolf whistle as Harry and Hermione kissing. The headmistress beamed at them both and knew then that whatever painful memories this couple had, would soon be replaced with far happier ones, and if any couple deserved all the happiness they could find it was these two.

Finally, after all the years that they had been kept apart, Harry and Hermione were together and always would be. This time all definitely was well.

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End file.
